Konoha Hearts
by Nicolah2009
Summary: Kaede is back, as the Hokage of Kohnoha, but a great war has been raging for five long years. See how it all began and ended as we travel through with Kaede and her new friend Miki. And maybe even with a long lost love refound. SasukeXKaede, MikiXNeji
1. Preface

**Here is the sequal to "Heart of an Uchiha Boy." I know, I know. It seems kind of quick, but this is only the kind of preface to the story. :D It's very interesting--enjoy!**

**Nicola**

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Holding a finger to her lips to ask for silence, Kaede Shinota stood slowly with her back against the wall. The black-haired girl to her left, a Hyuga named Miki, followed suit and shot a glance at her long-time friend. Miki and Kaede had met several years ago, and there was no one that Kaede trusted more.

Two guards stood at the gate entrance of the Kage tower of what was once Kohnoha. Kaede felt rage build up inside of her at the thought of that wretched man sitting in her office, looking over her village. But in truth, this was all her fault in the first place, and she'd be damned if she didn't fix it!

She had waited so long for this attack, so many long, torturous years, agonizingly waiting to launch the final attempt at bringing her village back to life. Five years ago, the whole thing had started. The Sannin-level ninja known as Orochimaru had mauled the village from top to bottom, sending in his followers to take down anyone that stepped in his way. Kaede had been one of them, fighting for her village and for everything that it stood for. Alas, they had failed, and Kohnoha was no more. The Leaf village was extinct except in the hearts of those who remained faithful to it, and the Sound village reigned in its place.

Orochimaru was living with the idea that there was no possible way for the remaining Kohnoha villagers to fight back against his now massive nation. He was also holding on to the fantasy that he had killed the Hokage of Kohnoha. A smug grin spread across Kaede's face at the thought of the shock Orochimaru would get when he found out that the Hokage was in fact alive and well. The immortalist couldn't hold onto "his" village forever. And Kaede was there to make sure of that.

Miki uttered a small mew of frustration, eager to get this show on the road. The young Byakugan user was always this way—never patient, constantly urging everyone to hurry up already and finish whatever he or she were doing.

Rolling her eyes, Kaede jerked her head in the direction of the two guards stationed at the entrance gate of the Hokage temple. Her nose wrinkled in anticipation, Miki activated her Byakugan and darted across the brown grass, her hand skimming the rough gray wall.

In a moment, both guards were on the ground, still and their bodies lifeless. Miki stood over them, a witch-y smirk souring her crisp, well-defined features. Her eyes went back to normal as she turned her Byakugan off and turned to her left where Kaede now stood, head tilted every so slightly to the side. Kaede's hazel eyes were locked on the window several stories above them where she knew the Hokage office was. A small movement, like the release of a drawn back curtain caught her eye, and she snarled. Orochimaru was watching.

"Miki, come on," she snapped, and the Hyuga blinked in wide-eyed surprise at the harsh tone of her voice. Kaede set off at a pace too fast to be necessary for their present mission, all thoughts directed on getting to Orochimaru and kicking him out of her village.

As they ran across the deadened lawn, Kaede reached up and pulled the leather string she used to keep her hair tied up loose and shoved it in her pocket. Her now light-brown hair willowed around her face and she let it. As it settled over her face, blocking everything from sight except for her proudly displayed Kohnoha headband and her nose and mouth. Her face wasn't the most welcome here.

Orochimaru had failed to kill the Hokage once—she bet he wouldn't pass up the chance to correct his mistake and get rid of her for good.

The tall doors that would lead into the main hall of the temple leered ahead, and Kaede's eyes narrowed. She remembered every detail from the day when this all started, and wasn't hesitant to relive it whenever the thought of Kohnoha came to mind. Besides, this was all her fault in the first place.

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**It's short, I know, but it's only the preface kind of thing. The others will be much longer, I promise. So no worries! I hope you enjoyed it, please read and review like all you wonderful reviewers do!**


	2. Chapter 1

**This is the official Chapter One of the story, and I am SOOO Happy I can upload it now. Don't know what was wrong with the site, but whatever. So, here you go. Have fun!**

**Disclaimer: I Do not (sadly) own Naruto**

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Chapter One: The Beginning

Nineteen years gone by. Nineteen birthdays past. And most of those years Kaede couldn't remember if you paid her.

She stood on the roof of the Hokage temple, her brown hair blowing lightly around her hardened, emotionless features. As the years had progressed, Kaede had matured, and now was a beautiful young woman. Her skin was a light tan, without freckle or blemish or any other facial marking. Her hazel eyes had dulled slightly from the bright and interested sparkle that they used to be, but would still glitter at her happiest moments. Her face was well defined and developed, her cheekbones set high on her face, features tough and hard. Long hours of training had given her the slim, shapely body that she possessed, and had given her the strength to be able to stand on this roof, as the Hokage of Konoha.

It was only seven months into her reign as Hokage, and she was already greatly loved by the villagers. Every day she held what she called an open court, where citizens of Konoha could come into the main hall of the temple and speak to her. They came with their problems, squabbles, concerns, and praises, and Kaede gracefully accepted and handled each one individually, no matter how long it took.

She sighed, ran a hand through her hair, and turned from the magnificent view of the village. The wind picked up, and a particularly nasty gust nearly knocked her forwards. She caught her balance, though, and walked with chin held high to the door leading down into the temple. The doorknob turned as she reached for it, and she jerked her hand back in surprise, then wrinkled her nose in annoyance when the door opened completely.

There, with a devilish grin spread across her face, stood Hyuga Miki, Kaede's best friend and not-so-dedicated guard. Once again, the black haired young woman had slept in late and was only now appearing to take her station by Kaede's side. Her pale eyes danced as she took in the view from the roof, and she brushed past the Hokage and spun around in a circle, arms spread out wide like the wings of a bird.

"Oh!" Miki exclaimed, ignoring Kaede's disgruntled sniff. "It's so beautiful out today, don't you think?" She turned to her irritated buddy and flashed a bright, innocent smile. "Come on, Kaede! Be chipper!"

Kaede glared at the other girl and turned to head downstairs. In a second, Miki was by her side, happily humming some random tune that Kaede couldn't place. They walked down the many flights of stairs silently, neither caring to speak. Well, one not wanting to tick the other off. Miki knew how to handle Kaede when she was in her weird brooding mood, and respected that the young Hokage wanted silence to think. But that, of course, didn't stop her from humming and whistling and trilling along to some song in her head.

Finally, just a few steps from the fifth floor, Kaede turned to Miki and snapped. "Will you cut that out?!"

Satisfied, Miki clicked her tongue. "Yup."

While the Hyuga jumped the last few steps and bounded through the door, Kaede clenched her fists and leaned against the wall, squinting her eyes shut. She loved Miki to death—they were best friends—but sometimes that girl got on her last nerve! It wasn't as if Kaede didn't have enough to send her mind spinning, and yet here comes Miki with some grand news to chatter on about or some other way of annoying Kaede.

The two girls had met two years ago, sometime in July, when an extremely frustrated Kaede was hunting for that perfect apple in an apple bin in the Konoha market. Miki, being the happy-go-lucky girl that she is, had only wanted to help, but instead managed to knock over the entire bin, sending apples everywhere. The angry clerk made the girls clean up the mess and wash each apple individually. Those many hours working together wouldn't have happened in silence, so they'd talked and laughed and learned much about each other, and how similar they were.

From there, they had been the best of friends, Miki able to deal with Kaede's moods and even snap her out of it, and Kaede able to put up with the pranks Miki pulled that no one else seemed to appreciate. One was frisky, the other determined and moody, and they made the perfect pair.

Kaede, after a few moments of draining her frustration, followed Miki through the door and into a long, decorated hallway. Miki was already flouncing down the hall, waving at everyone she passed and peeping her head into open doors to shout out a friendly hello. Kaede licked her lips and patiently waited for Miki to quit greeting everyone, and finally they reached the large, mahogany door that lead to the Hokage office.

She let out a loud sigh as she entered the huge room. One wall was lined with windows, another with bookshelves, the other two with documents, papers, and portraits of past great ninja and Hokage's. Kaede moved over behind her desk and settled in her comfortable office chair, leaning back and propping her feet on the edge of the desk. The polished wood was covered mostly by scrolls and papers scattered in seemingly unorganized piles, but Kaede had her own system of organizing her things. In fact…

Curious as to why her unopened pile was so full, Kaede swung her feet off her desk and picked up the scroll on the top. A gasp escaped her lips as she saw the red ribbon tied around its middle—it was urgent! She quickly untied the ribbon and opened the scroll, scanning it.

"Final notice….urgent….please see previously sent scroll…emergency…" Kaede murmured under her breath and tossed the scroll aside. Miki lazily caught it, set it down on a bookshelf, and rushed to help Kaede look for the "previously sent scroll."

Scrolls went flying everywhere as they searched for a scroll with a red ribbon on it. As she looked at the dates of each message, Kaede couldn't believe she'd been so neglectful of her work. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that this week would have been her anniversary with—well, a certain someone whose name would not be mentioned. She couldn't bring herself to open that book up again.

"Here, is this it?" Miki asked, appearing from under a sea of papers, holding up a simple scroll with a red ribbon tied around it and the Sound village stamp on it. Kaede gasped as she took it from the other girl and carefully slipped the ribbon off. She unrolled the message cautiously, swallowing hard as she read:

_Hokage of the Leaf,_

_As the leader of the Sound village, I am presently declaring war on your village. You have been fairly warned that a week from the date this message was sent an attack will be made on Konoha. I look forward to our meeting. _

_Sincerely,_

_Lord Orochimaru_

Kaede clutched the arm of her chair and forced herself to look at the date. She cried out weakly and felt Miki wrap a comforting arm around her shoulders. Tomorrow would mark the week that Orochimaru was talking about. Or, rather, Lord Orochimaru, as he referred to himself as.

She threw the scroll down and held her head in her hands, completely ignoring Miki's words of comfort. The first thing that needed to be done was a report to ANBU headquarters to prepare the troops for an attack, possibly a massive one. Sure, Konoha had survived Orochimaru's attacks before, but they didn't have Sarutobi to keep him busy anymore. They only had Kaede.

Immediately, with thoughts of the brave Third Hokage running through her mind, Kaede lifted her head from her hands and grabbed a blank scroll and a pen. She began to scribble down just what was going on, when the attack was planned, and would the top strategists of ANBU coupled with the head of ANBU please report to her office to go over the plans for attack. She shoved the scroll at Miki, who hurriedly left to deliver the message while Kaede rubbed her temples.

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"Alright, so it's all settled then," Kaede said firmly, setting her pen down and looking from Anko to Shikamaru to Tsunade. The lazy Nara boy seemed serious—for once—and his face was stern. Kaede wasn't too keen to have him looking down on her like she were some pupil and he were her irritated sensei. But she ignored his glare and looked at Anko.

The brown-haired ninja had one hand in the pocket of her coat, the other rubbing her neck where Orochimaru had planted a curse seal. Kaede felt sympathy for the older woman, considering the pain that the curse seal caused whenever Orochimaru was anywhere close. That curse seal, though, would give them an idea of how far away the snake Sannin was, and Kaede knew that Anko could handle the pain. She had for many, many long years.

"I'll take this plan and send it to the team leaders," Anko said suddenly, moving her hand from her neck to take the large piece of paper off of Kaede's desk. Kaede nodded and stood up to shake each of the three's hands.

"Thank you," she murmured quietly to Tsunade, who winked and left behind Shikamaru and Anko.

With a sigh, Kaede walked over to the wall of windows and stared outside, hands clasped tightly behind her back. From these windows, she could see almost all of Konoha, from the gate of her temple to the outer gate protecting the village. In between the two walls sat hundreds of houses, stores, and other buildings that were essential to the Leaf Village's every day life. The streets and alleys separating the buildings looked like little trails in a child's ant farm. Kaede's heart tugged at the thought of all of this belonging to Orochimaru. She couldn't let that happen. This village was her life, her heart, her soul, and without it she was nothing.

Ever since waking up in that hospital room and fighting Kakashi's with everything she had, Konoha had been her life. She could remember everything from her childhood years. A smile worked its way across her face as she thought of first meeting her team, made up of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke. Her first argument with Sasuke, fighting in the river with Naruto, and sparring with Sakura. Every memory from those years was precious to her, especially the memory of a certain young man who had captured her heart at an early age. But she wouldn't think of him for anything—his name brought up too much hurt.

Kaede placed her hand on the warm glass and looked up at the sky, wondering where that young man was.

Her smile turned into a sad grin and her eyes welled with tears as she recalled those moments spent with him. His laugh that was saved specially for her, his dark eyes dancing at the sight of her. The way he looked at her when she walked in a room, the way he held her in his arms. The look of worry on his face as she woke from a torturous unconsciousness brought on by a holder of the Sharingan, the relief when she told him that she was okay.

She felt the warm tears sliding down her face that she had kept firmly behind mental barriers for years, and shook her head sharply to get rid of the images of him. She wiped her cheeks and furiously rubbed her eyes, stemming the flow of the tears. Her hazel eyes still glistening with the stopped tears once again scanned the village and she felt a pride at knowing that she was the leader of such a place.

It was then that she realized Miki wasn't in the room with her, and she turned from the windows to look around the room for her missing friend. And she realized that Miki was part of ANBU, and was probably preparing for the battle ahead. She nodded to herself and went back to the windows, feeling a sudden urge to get outside and walk among her people.

She decided to follow through with that urge.

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The people in the street were hurrying around, buzzing about on their daily activities. Kaede smiled at those who looked her way, waved at those who called out a hello, and stopped to hug little children who escaped from their mothers to come and tug on her shirt, saying, "Hi, Miss Hokage!" It was those children, she mused as she waved bye-bye to a small boy, that would be the future of the village, and it was those children that she was sworn to protect.

A few streets away, she knew, was her parents' house, but that wasn't her destination. That house brought back too many memories of a part of her life she wasn't too eager to relive. In fact, it was only recently that she was able to complete the memories that she had lost.

For several years, between the ages of somewhere near six up to thirteen, Kaede lived with the same Sannin she was trying to defeat: Orochimaru. The snake Sannin had kidnapped her from an early age and raised her under his wing. He trained her to his liking, teaching her most of what he knew, except for his immorality jutsu. Kaede now remembered every one of those lessons, and had the scars to prove it. But it had taken years of unwanted memory flashes, blackouts, and nightmares to collect those years again.

Now, Kaede knew everything. And she definitely didn't thank Orochimaru for it.

As she walked down the street, she noticed something. More and more people seemed to be getting worried, especially older women with young children. Maybe it was because their husbands were out preparing for Orochimaru's attack, but how would they know about it already? Kaede definitely hadn't said anything to anyone outside the ANBU, much less outside the temple.

Skipping, smiling, and holding a small yellow flower, a little blonde girl approached Kaede. She held her hand out and looked down shyly. Kaede smiled gently at the little girl and knelt down to her level.

"Hello, little one," she said, placing a hand on the girl's head. The child giggled and shoved the flower towards the Hokage. Kaede took it from the girl's hand and gave the pretty bloom a sniff. "Mmm," she said, wiggling the flower on the child's nose, tickling it. "Smells good. Don't you think?"

The child giggled again and leapt at Kaede, throwing her tiny arms around the young woman's neck and squeezing. Kaede hugged her lightly back and stood up, holding the little girl. "So where's your mama?"

Taking her head off of Kaede's shoulder, the girl looked around and pointed at a tall woman with the same blonde hair. Nodding, Kaede made a beeline for the woman, still holding the flower. The look on the child's mother's face when she saw the Hokage coming towards her with her daughter was a mix of amazement and relief.

She reached her arms out to the little girl when they finally reached her. The child wrapped her arms around her mom's neck and clambered to her. Kaede rumpled her hair affectionately and showed the child the flower. "I'll keep this with me," she promised, then turned her attention to the mother. "You have a very sweet daughter, ma'am."

The woman flushed. "Thank you, Miss Hokage," she said, setting her daughter on her own two feet. "I was frightened when I couldn't find her, but now I know she was in safe hands."

"Always," Kaede said softly, shook the woman's hand, and was on her way. She held the flower to her nose and sniffed it again. What kind of flower was this? Ah, yes, a lily. She couldn't believe how sweet that the child was, to leave her mother and bring her a lily. Her heart warmed at the thought. She hoped to see that little girl again.

Her walk through Konoha ended when she had made her rounds and gotten back to the Hokage temple. She stayed outside, though, enjoying the last rays of the sun as it set. She sat by a tall willow tree, lightly spinning the flower between her fingers. The orange, yellow, pink, and blue colors of the sunset never failed to make an amazing picture. When she watched the sunsets, she never asked or allowed anyone to accompany her. The only person she'd ever shared a sunset with was long gone, and it hurt too much to let anyone else take his place.

A cool evening breeze lifted her hair off her shoulders and sent it lightly flowing behind her. Over the course of the past few years, her hair had become lighter and lighter shades of brown until it became the dark chestnut color it was today. Hours in the sun had caused this, but Kaede felt she liked it. It was a welcome change. Most changes were.

She knew that when the attack happened tomorrow, she wouldn't be allowed to stand with her fellow ninja and fight. The Hokage wasn't supposed to fight battles—that was the job of the ANBU. But the Hokage was supposed to be the leader and protector of the village, and Kaede planned to do just that. Sarutobi hadn't hesitated to fight for the Leaf when Orochimaru attacked during the Chunin exams years ago. The Fourth Hokage hadn't let the Nine-tailed Fox demon destroy his village, had he? No. He'd sacrificed himself and sealed the demon inside a baby, Naruto.

Speaking of which, where was the frisky blonde ninja?

Kaede stood up as the last rays of the sun disappeared beyond the horizon and the sky completely darkened. Naruto was somewhere around here, and she bet she knew where. But it was night now, and trotting down the streets in the dark looking for Naruto at Ichiraku wasn't ideal for a Hokage whose village was about to be attacked.

So reluctantly she walked through the heavy oak doors leading into the temple and padded upstairs to her bedroom.

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Kaede woke the next morning from a pretty much sleepless night. When she opened her curtains, she found that she was up before the sun, but that didn't matter. It was the day she had been dreading—well, dreading since yesterday, but in theory, she had been dreading an attack by Orochimaru her entire life.

She went into her closet and dug around for something that wouldn't make her stand out as Hokage. She wanted to be accepted as one of her people, not to be recognized as anyone special when she wasn't. In truth, she was just a ninja, the same as everyone else. And she wanted to be treated as such.

Almost everything in her wardrobe screamed "Hokage," though, and that just wouldn't do. She looked down at her trim waist and well-toned body. Then, she dug around in the back of her closet, looking for a certain something. She knelt by a plain brown box with the words "Ninja Clothes" written on it in black marker. She smiled as she took the top off and pulled out a shirt.

The shirt was black, with red marking the shoulders and forearms. The sleeves went completely down to the wrists, and the Konoha symbol was inscribed in red on the bottom of the back of the shirt. Kaede pulled out a pair of black pants and held them up to study. They were black pants with red stitching that went down to the knees. She laid them over her arm and dug in the box again, resurfacing with a pair of black sandals and two rolls of wraps.

Satisfied, Kaede stood up, carrying the outfit, and sat on her bed. She placed the shirt, shoes, pants, and wraps next to her and took a deep, shaky breath. Four years ago, he had bought her this outfit, to wear "for Konoha," had been his exact words. She had never put the clothes on, but she knew that this was the right time.

Heartache aside, Kaede stood up, and swapped her tank top and pajama shorts for the tight ninja clothes. She loved the way it fit her, the way it hugged her slim figure, broad, well-muscled shoulders, and strong legs. Unraveling the white wraps, Kaede wrapped them around her legs, up just above her knees, and tucked them in so that they would only come loose when she wanted them to.

The only problem with this outfit, she mused as she looked in the mirror, was that the sleeves were long. Well, that could be solved. She reached into the pouch attached to her waist and took out a kunai. Gritting her teeth against the little voice in her head telling her not to cut the costly fabric, she sliced the sleeves about halfway down to her elbow. The leftover pieces hung limply at her wrists, and she slipped them off, grimacing a little at the uneven cut of her kunai. She should've chosen one of her more sharpened ones.

There, that was better.

Once again, she unraveled the white material and coiled the wraps around her wrists and up to her elbow. She dug around in her bedside table drawer and came up with a red piece of string. She ran a brush through her chestnut hair, looped the string around it, and tied her hair into a neat ponytail. After one last check that her weaponry was in place, her wraps were secure, and the straps on her sandals were tightened, Kaede walked out of her room and down the hall to her office.

Already inside was a tight-lipped Miki. The Hyuga girl was dressed in the normal ANBU clothes, with the green vest, the black shirt, and the black pants. She nodded firmly at Kaede, fully aware of the Hokage's intentions to fight for her village. Kaede moved to stand beside her friend and clasped her hands behind her back.

"So," Miki said, staring out the windows. "This is it, huh?"  
Nodding, Kaede agreed. "Yes, Miki. It is." She shot a sharp look at the other girl. "Miki, I know you're aware of how serious this is."

"Yes, Kaede, I know."

She hesitated. "But, I just want you to know, when we go out there, that you're not alone. You're my best friend in the world, Miki. I've got your back."

Miki turned to Kaede, her expression hard and emotionless, but her eyes telling all. The two embraced for a moment, and Kaede fought back tears. This young woman was mostly all she had left, and if anything happened to her, she didn't know what she would do. Just as they were parting, the door quietly swung open and a solemn Naruto and Kakashi walked in.

Kaede turned from Miki and dashed over to Naruto, suddenly feeling like a Chunin again, and grabbed his hand. She squeezed it and held his gaze. His blue eyes stared for a long time into hers before he pulled her into a hug. She let him, resting her head against his chest. Wasn't it not long ago that she and he had been the same height? It came as news to her that he was so much taller than she.

"Naruto," she murmured, pulling away from him. She swallowed hard and stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "You are very brave to go out there today. Thank you."

When their old sensei cleared his throat and tapped his foot, they both looked sheepishly at the ground. Kakashi still acted as their mentor, even if they'd advanced up to and beyond his level. The gray-haired Jounin had been the first one to show almost a fatherly compassion towards Kaede, and she greatly appreciated his efforts to make her feel welcome in Team Seven.

She looked up into his one eye—no, two, he had his headband up. His bright red Sharingan eye and normal gray eye stared back at her with an almost wistful look to them. She held out her hand and clasped his in a firm handshake, letting him know just how grateful to him she was.

Naruto moved over to stand on behind Kaede, and placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. "Miss Hokage," he said, staring straight ahead of him. "We are honored to serve you today."

Kaede shook her head and put her hand on top of his. "No, Naruto." She turned to face him. "You are not serving me today. We are both serving the same thing: Konoha. This village is our home, our honor, and we vowed to protect it the moment we received these headbands. Today, I am not your Hokage, but your equal."

Silence followed her small speech, and she walked away from Naruto to stand beside Miki and gazed outside the windows. Far away, beyond the outer gates of Konoha, many soldiers of the Sound were marching closer to the village, a three-headed snake sliding along behind them. And inside the village, the Leaf ninja were preparing for the biggest battle that they had ever seen.

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**Hooray! I have, like three or something more chaps to update today, so get excited**

**Nicola**


	3. Chapter 2

**Here's Chapter two! I'm so excited about this story. It will last a LOT longer than Heart of an Uchiha Boy, trust me. And more drama!**

**Read the disclaimer from the previous chapter**

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Chapter Two: Facing Her Fears

The gates of Konoha burst open in a flurry of fire and dust. The outlines of Sound ninja were barely visible through the smoke the explosion had brought up. ANBU ninja leapt from their posts on the wall, landing in front of the Sound nin. They held their fists to their mouths, blowing fire between their fingers and creating a massacre of huge, flaming fireballs.

Many miles into the village, hundreds of ANBU ninja jumped from rooftop to rooftop, their faces creased in determination. But that determination only masked what they were truly feeling: Fear.

Kaede was among them, sprinting along with Naruto and Miki flanking her. She was at the head of the ninja heading to counterattack Orochimaru's troops. She, too, wore a mask of determination, but she felt no fear. Long ago, someone had taught her to clear her mind when in battle, to concentrate solely on the task ahead, and defeating her opponent. If she could, she would have thanked that person for giving her the lesson that might save her life today.

She pulled a kunai out of her pouch, twirled it between her fingers, and grabbed it in a firm grip. Focusing her chakra into the knife, she pushed off of a roof, heading straight to the ground, and straight for a Sound ninja. One slash later, the ninja's hands—which had been building up chakra—were severed. Another jab, the knife was in his throat, and she yanked it out, elbowing the man in the back of his neck to push him to the dirt. Unaware of anyone else around her, Kaede took off running into the crowd of Sound nin taking on her ninja.

Left, right, behind, in front, and even above Sound nin were appearing and each were taking their swipe at any Konoha ninja that came into their sight. Kaede whipped another kunai from her pouch, holding one in each hand, fighting off as many of the enemy as she possibly could. One nin sporting a headband on his right arm and swinging a large sword every which way caught Kaede on the shoulder, and she winced, but kept on moving.

Kaede's great speed was the only thing between her and certain death. She was a Taijutsu master, possessing the ability to move at a speed that most ninja merely dreamt of having and the agility to twist, flip, and apply hits to the opponent in mid-air. There were only two other ninja in Konoha who had this skill—Maito Gai and Rock Lee. They were somewhere in this mix, she knew, probably moving too fast for anyone without trained eyes to see.

Suddenly, she found herself in the clear for a moment. Taking advantage of this, Kaede shot a look around to see the position her ninja were in. She could make out Naruto fighting off several Sound nin, and a few feet away was Kakashi, confusing the heck out of a few enemy ninja with his Sharingan. There—that flash of green was either Lee or Gai, and over there was Neji using his Juuyken.

After one more glance around—she didn't see Miki anywhere—Kaede back-flipped into the mass of fighting ninja. Once her feet hit the ground, she pushed off into the air again, pulling shuriken and kunai out like lighting. She tossed them out towards the sky, watching with satisfaction as they bounced off one another and went soaring towards their targets.

At the same moment, each weapon hit their intended target. Sound nin fell suddenly with the strike of the knives and shuriken. Kaede landed back on the ground, whipping out another kunai, wrapping an explosive seal around it, and throwing it into the air. She made a chakra sign, and the seal exploded, sending those who were not ready for it sprawling. The Konoha nin had expected this, though, and were still fighting those who had been attentive enough to notice the pre-planned blast.

Kaede turned, grabbed the wrist of a ninja who had been about to hit her hard, and bent it backwards. The nin cried out in pain, but thrust his knee towards Kaede's stomach. She was ready for him, knocked his knee away from her, and sent him to the ground. While she pounced on another nin, she made a chakra sign. The sound of an explosion reached her ears, but she had no time to revel in her small victory—there were three Sound nin attacking her from three different angles.

One sent out three kunai towards her, which she dodged easily, and which the ninja opposite the first caught and launched at her again. Kaede watched in horror as one knife headed for her knee, the second aimed at the injury already inflicted on her shoulder, and the last straight for her face.

And then, the knives dropped to the ground, and the three Sound nin fell on their knees, eyes widened in pain. Kaede jumped to her feet and swept the kunai up. She spared not a moment to think about what had happened to the three enemy ninja, but fell back into the battle, throwing punches, kicks, and weaponry at any Sound nin she could find in her range.

In front of her, she saw Naruto, followed by five more of him, and then even more. The orange-clad Jounin was using his trademark shadow clone jutsu, and Kaede couldn't help but grin as he cleared a pathway that he knew she needed. As she darted through the small opening, she shouted a "thanks" in his direction, unsure if he had heard her or not.

Her way was now clear, leading straight to the three-headed snake crashing through buildings and swiping people off roofs. On the top of the middle head stood a white-faced man that sent Kaede's mind whirring. Even from a far distance, one could make out the trademark creepy smile pasted on Orochimaru's face. She could almost hear his maniacal laugh, and shuddered, old anger and hate bubbling to the surface.

She leapt onto the roof of someone's home, hardly noticing the hundreds of Sound nin pouring into the village around the huge snake. Her focus was locked on reaching Orochimaru, and killing him, no matter what it took.

As she ran, she remembered everything that Orochimaru had taught her in those years long ago. The fights with Kimimaro replayed in her head, the spars with Kabuto, the Sound Four, and Orochimaru himself. The scars that marked her hands throbbed at the thought of Kimimaro's finger bullets tearing through the flesh on her knuckles. She wiped her brow and loosened the wraps on her forearms.

He was only a leap away, she realized, and focused her chakra into her feet, giving a mighty shove and soaring through the air towards Orochimaru. She landed unsteadily on the head of the right snake, and it roared when it felt her weight on its skull. Grimacing as the snake thrashed about, she jumped off the scaly head and landed on the middle snake, which was perfectly still.

She was standing behind Orochimaru, glaring daggers into the space between his shoulder blades. Slowly, the snake Sannin turned around, his face the picture of utter disbelief. Kaede licked her lips, her eyes not moving from those snake-like ones. Immediately after recognizing Kaede, Orochimaru's face turned to one of happiness, to eagerness. She supposed that he was either a pedophile, or looking forward to the battle he knew was coming.

"This is as far as you get, Orochimaru," she snarled at him, crossing her arms and holding his gaze. "The only way to get past me is to kill me."

A haughty laugh burst from his mouth. "Oh, trust me, child, that can be arranged. But look around you." He waved a hand at the ruins of Konoha. "Besides, this little village is as good as gone. Even if I am defeated, which is highly unlikely, there's no way to return the Leaf to the way it was before." He laughed again. "Either way, I win!"

"No, Orochimaru," Kaede said evenly, shaking her head. "Either way, Konoha wins. You may be able to cause mass destruction, and kill many of our ninja, but there will always be survivors who will carry on the word and legacy of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

Orochimaru's face twisted in anger. "How dare you!" he growled, clenching his hands into tight fists. "You speak as though you were Hokage!"

When a smug grin made its way across Kaede's face, Orochimaru took a step back in horror. "You…you….you can't be Hokage! You're just a child!"

This time, it was Kaede's turn to laugh. "I'm more than a child, Orochimaru. I'm a Sannin. Just like you." She lifted her chin slightly and narrowed her eyes. "Now, let's get this party started."

Kaede lunged at Orochimaru at top speed, covering the short distance between them rapidly and disappearing once in front of him. The white-faced ninja looked around confusedly, then jerked forward as a fist connected with his back, then the side of his face, and a swift kick to the back of the legs sent him to his knees. Kaede knew what she was doing—for years she had dreamt of battling Orochimaru, and had mapped out his weak points. He was a fool for speed, and a fool to anger. The angrier she made him, the less he thought out his moves.

"You just can't keep up, can you?" she taunted, appearing in front of him, then behind again and shoving his face into the scales of his own snake. "You're too slow."

A growl erupted from Orochimaru as he lashed out behind him with his legs, aiming to hit Kaede in the knees. But she was too quick for him, dancing lightly to the side and slamming her foot down on his ankle. The Sannin cried out as his ankle succumbed to the pressure of Kaede's foot. She moved in front of him again, watching with satisfaction as he stood up, gingerly testing how much weight he could place on his foot before throwing himself at her.

Kaede caught his fist, but was unprepared for the punch that connected with her jaw. She heard a sickening thud as it hit, and gasped at the pain surging through her entire face, like white-hot needles. Not one to be paralyzed that easy, though, she retaliated and kneed the snake man in the gut, cracked the hand that she still held backwards, and dodged out of the way of another punch.

Finding that her taunting wasn't working as well as she had planned, Kaede back flipped over Orochimaru and landed behind him, rapidly jabbing him in the small of his back several times. He turned into a puff of smoke at her first hit, and she felt the sharp edge of a kunai pierce her stomach. She looked down to see a gleeful Orochimaru crouched at knee level. Orochimaru tore the knife from her and wiped the blood lazily on his shirt. Kaede gasped and held her stomach, but stayed upright. She forced the pain out of her mind and kicked the speed up a notch. She disappeared, and appeared underneath Orochimaru, kicking him high into the air. As he soared above, she kept on attacking him, repeatedly punching and kicking him. This, she knew, was the Lotus jutsu, which she hadn't had to use for a long time.

"Open first chakra gate, the open gate!" she yelled, and felt the chakra surge she knew had been coming. She saw Orochimaru gaze at her in shock as her whole demeanor changed. Her speed increased, as did the power of her punches. One glance over her shoulder told her that they were high enough, and that the snake had moved on far enough.

A voice in her head screamed for her to stop, but she couldn't let this wretched man get away with killing people anymore. She called upon her greatest reserves of energy, screaming, "Initial Lotus!"

The wraps on her arms entwined themselves around Orochimaru, attaching Kaede to the villain. She maneuvered them in the air until they were upside down. She closed her eyes tightly and began spinning until it was impossible to detect where one ended and the other began. The ground rushed up to meet them, and Kaede screamed at the impact she'd expected, but still wasn't prepared for. There had never been a time when using this jutsu was necessary, and as a result she hadn't used it very often.

She tumbled away from the snake Sannin, her muscles screaming for relief. Slowly, painstakingly she stood up and made her way over to the small crater created by her jutsu. When she peered inside, she gasped—all that was there were the broken pieces of a kunai. Looking up and towards the snake, she saw Orochimaru sprinting towards it. Anger and agony overtook her, and she screamed.

Quickly, she made a chakra sign and called for the second gate to be opened. And then the third. Another scream poured from her at the chakra that was surging through her body. Her skin turned a reddish color, and the chakra was visible, sending a blue glow around her. She took off after Orochimaru, each step sending up clouds and clumps of dirt. She was moving at a speed she had never felt before, an unfamiliar rush coursing through her veins. Her heart thudded in her chest rapidly, almost to a point that she feared it bursting out.

In a few seconds time, but what felt like an eternity to her, she caught up to Orochimaru, snagging him by his unnecessarily long black hair. His neck jerked backwards as she hauled him towards her, landing a kick into his stomach when he swung himself around to face her. She once again performed the Lotus jutsu on him, repeatedly knocking him further and further up. Appearing above the villain, she grabbed him by his purple belt, pulled him up at her.

She screamed, "Primary Lotus!" and threw a punch down at Orochimaru that would break through layers and layers of brick.

When they hit the ground, a rumbling wave swept through the street, sending Konoha and Sound ninja flying everywhere. Kaede rolled away from the snake Sannin, her chakra nearly completely gone, every limb, muscle, bone, and ligament in her body screaming for mercy, for release, for the pain to just end already. She gasped for breath, holding herself up on her knees and hands. Tilting her head away from the ground, she looked to the large crater created by the impact of her jutsu.

She saw nothing.

Confused, in pain, and angry, Kaede looked around for any sign of the legendary Sound nin. All she heard, though, was laughing. _Laughing._

Someone grabbed her by the scruff of her collar and started dragging her along as they jumped up onto a housetop. Kaede moaned with each landing on another roof, unable to fight back. Almost all of her chakra was gone; she was too weak to attack the man she knew was holding her. As they passed the ruins that used to be the glorious streets of Konoha, Kaede scanned them for any sign of her ninjas. On the ground, Konoha ninja and Sound ninja alike lay motionless, dead and defeated. But what worried her the most was the many more Konoha faces she saw than Sound headbands.

As Sound nin began following Orochimaru and his prize, Kaede felt the dread she'd been hoping wouldn't consume her. Konoha had lost.

Suddenly, after a particularly high—and nasty for Kaede's sake—leap, all movement stopped. A pair of cold hands grabbed her by the shoulders and hoisted her upright, hugging her to a body. She shivered subconsciously as she heard his voice.

"Ninjas of the Sound!" Orochimaru announced to roaring applause and shouts of victory. "We have defeated the Village Hidden in the Leaves!" More hoots and hollers that Kaede did not want to hear. "Here I stand, on my temple, clutching the Hokage of the Leaf. This child is Hokage no more!"

With these words, the cold hands pushed Kaede off the roof of the Hokage temple, sending her falling to the ground nine stories below. As the wind rushed past her weak and tired body, she thought to herself, _I'm sorry…_



The room felt damp, chilly, and yet full of something. It was dark—she could tell that even from behind her eyelids. Kaede moaned, everything hurting. She fought momentarily with her extremely heavy and reluctant to open eyelids, trying to force them to reveal where she was. When they did, she found the dim light hard to adjust to, but what she did notice right off the bat was that several people were huddled around her.

She sat upright, immediately regretting it but not showing it as she realized whom these people were. Every one of them sported slashes, scrapes, and bloodied clothes. Hastily made bandages were on almost every person, but the one thing that stood out the most to Kaede was that they all wore Konoha headbands, whether on their foreheads, arms, necks, or waists.

Kaede sighed in relief that she was not the only survivor, that relief lasting only about two milliseconds before she remembered that Konoha was no more—Orochimaru had won.

"No," she whispered through dry, cracked, and bloodied lips. They couldn't have lost, they couldn't have! She wouldn't accept it—there was no way that Konoha didn't exist, and that the Sound village was in its place! But she had been there, been there when Orochimaru announced his victory, and then…and then he'd thrown her off the top of the Hokage temple roof where only a few days ago she had been standing and thinking about her own problems from years ago.

Tears welled in her eyes as she realized that this was all her fault, that if it hadn't been for her negligence, her stupidity, Konoha could've fought off Orochimaru's ninjas and prevailed over him once again. But she'd had to be lazy, to be dwelling in memories that she should've forgotten a long time before.

She turned to her right, and found herself staring into the sad eyes of one of her most trusted friends: Naruto. His blue eyes were downcast, and he shook his head lightly, unable to utter a word. She tried to meet his gaze, but he averted his eyes and turned away. Kaede looked to the person beside Naruto, and reached up a weak, bandaged hand to touch the pink-haired kunoichi's face. Sakura reached up and grasped her old teammates hand, tears already streaming down her face. Kaede pulled the kunoichi's closer to her and wrapped her in a hug, shushing her.

"Sakura, it's OK," she whispered, and they parted. Sakura attempted a smile before turning to Naruto and weeping into his shoulder. Kaede looked at the other faces around her, recognizing each and every one of them. Stony-faced Neji, Tsunade, Shizune, Hagane Kotetsu, Hinata, Shikamaru, Lee, and Miki. There were several missing, she knew, and swung her legs over the side of the wooden table. She slowly stood up, looking at every face that had surrounded the table.

Walking over to Neji, she placed a hand on his shoulder, wrapped Tsunade and Shizune in a hug, shook Kotetsu's hand, touched Shikamaru's arm, hugged Lee and Hinata. She stood in front of Miki for a moment. The Hyuga girl looked as down as Kaede felt. Kaede pulled her friend into a tight hug, murmuring, "Miki, I'm sorry."

"Don't be." The voice didn't belong to Miki, or anyone else that Kaede had just greeted. It was a voice that Kaede hadn't heard in years, nor wanted to hear. No wonder Sakura had been crying so hard, no wonder Naruto had looked sad and disappointed. Letting go of Miki, she turned to stare in disbelief at the hard, handsome, older, expressionless face with those black eyes…

Abruptly after a curt nod, Kaede turned back to Tsunade and gave her a look that told the older woman to not mention anything about the raven-haired young man a few steps away.

"Who is missing?" she requested of the former Hokage, her voice tight and strained, and Tsunade took her by the arm and led her to another side of the small room, so they could have some privacy.

"As you can see, looking around, we do not have many people left," Tsunade began, sweeping her hand across the room. She glanced at Sakura and Naruto before continuing, "We have not recovered hundreds of ninja. The casualties we suffered are extremely high, and costly. Kakashi did not return. Nor did Kiba, Choji, Ino, TenTen, Gai, Izumo, and so many others." She sighed. "Anko didn't make it back."

"No!" Kaede cried, grabbing onto Tsunade's arm. "How?" The older woman knew that the young Hokage was asking how Anko had perished.

"She attempted to go after you when she found out that you'd chased after Orochimaru. Kabuto brought her down a few moments later, but not before she saw you performing the Primary Lotus. I saw her smile before he killed her."

Kaede felt those hated tears well up in her eyes, but she couldn't let them flow. She was the Hokage, and had to stay strong for her village, or what was left of it. She once again looked to Tsunade for guidance. "Did Hiashi make it?" Hyuga Hiashi, Hinata's father and Neji's uncle, was vital to Konoha. When Tsunade nodded, Kaede felt her knees go weak with relief. "How many women and children survived?"

"A few hundred. Since we were prepared for the attack, we were able to evacuate them to safety the night before. They're in various other rooms down here." She paused, then raised an eyebrow. "You do know that we are underground, correct?"

Kaede nodded. A few miles outside of Konoha, and many feet underneath was a series of hidden rooms, tunnels, and paths used for emergencies only. She had never wanted to use them, but it had turned out that they were necessary. They stretched on for miles and miles and miles. It was almost a sort of underground city, stocked with food, weaponry, and other essentials, such as blankets, clothes, and grooming supplies. The day before the attack, the tunnels had been restocked with even more supplies, and the women and children who had been evacuated had been told to bring all of their clothes and blankets, including those items of the family members who weren't likely to return.

Tsunade looked at Kaede once more before moving away to speak with Shizune about the administration of healing supplies and such. Left alone, Kaede's mind could no longer concentrate on someone else, and was forced to think about the raven-haired boy standing several feet away.

She turned around and found herself closer to him than she'd originally thought—their noses were almost touching.

"Kaede," he whispered, reaching up and smoothing her hair. He bent his head and held his lips so close to hers that she could feel his breath. "I've missed you." He brushed his lips against hers in a kiss that she once had longed for. But now, she didn't want it. She pulled away from him and took a step backwards, shaking her head.

"No, Sasuke," she said quietly, hastily reaching to tie her hair up but finding that she had nothing to fasten it with. Nervously, she ran a hand through her tousled chestnut locks, then held her head in her hands and turned away from the Uchiha boy.

His hand landed on her shoulder and stopped her from walking away. "Please, Kaede, what's wrong?" he asked gently, pulling her to him and pressing her against his body. She wrestled in his grasp, but, like Kakashi had so many years ago, he waited patiently for her to calm down before he released her. Once she was standing on her own feet, she smacked him across the face as hard as she could manage in her weakened state. Sasuke took it solemnly, then grabbed her hand and pulled them together.

"Let me go, Sasuke!" she cried, thrashing about. He waited for her to calm down, but didn't release her this time. She sagged against him, almost drowning in mixed feelings. She was finally in the arms of the person she had mourned over for years, and she was glad for that. But she was still angry with him for leaving, and how dare he come back like this all of a sudden, especially when her village was gone!

"Now, are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Sasuke asked in a firm tone, holding her gaze. Kaede found that she couldn't look away.

"You left," she whispered finally, her hazel eyes turning soft with the hurt he had caused. For years she had kept it all in, fighting back all her emotions and keeping his memories behind mental barriers. "You left and you never came back."

Sasuke's eyes matched hers as he said, "And you don't know how much it hurt me to do that."

Anger replaced sadness as Kaede tore her aching hand from his hold. "I think I do, Uchiha. You hurt me in so many ways. You should be ashamed to show your face."

The way Sasuke looked at her made her heart want to melt, but she held firm and stared him down. She felt someone behind her, and glanced to her left to see Miki standing strong, backing her up. Her heart went out to the obviously devastated Hyuga, to be behind her all the way even after all she'd done.

"Is this the punk that left you?" Miki asked sharply, cracking her bruised knuckles. When Kaede nodded, Miki stepped forward and poked Sasuke in the chest. "You'd better not be making a move on my friend, dude. You hurt her so bad, and you can't take that back. And you can't make it better."

Glaring daggers at daring little Miki, Sasuke said, "Trust me, I know how she feels. And if you don't get out of my face, then you'll be feeling that hurt ten times worse." His eyes flashed to the Sharingan, then to the Mangekyou Sharingan, and Kaede gasped, pulling Miki back and locking her eyes on Sasuke's red ones. Immediately, the pinwheel shape disappeared, and the red orbs went back to black. His gaze softened and he lightly touched Kaede's face.

"I still love you, Kaede."

She blinked furiously, stemming tears. "I know you do, Sasuke. I love you as much as I did before, but I just can't right now. If you had come a week earlier, I might have accepted you. You came at the worst possible time. Konoha is gone. Most of the people I knew and cared for are dead. I'm supposed to be Hokage, and I let Orochimaru take over the village!" A sob wrenched from her chest, and she couldn't fight the tears back anymore. She fell onto Sasuke, sobbing uncontrollably into his white shirt. He gently rubbed her back, kissed the top of her head, pulled her into his warm embrace.

Everything was her fault. She was neglectful of her work, and Konoha had paid for it. Her friends, family had paid for it. Orochimaru had the reins, and it was all on her shoulders. There was nothing she could do now but cry. She heard Miki walk away, apparently leaving her to her breakdown. After a moment, she gained control of her sobs, her breathing steadied, and she stepped back from Sasuke.

He was gazing down at her with a loving glint in his dark eyes, and she smiled up at him. "Thank you," she mouthed, and turned away. She wiped her face and her eyes, and strode purposefully over to where the others were standing.

Shikamaru nodded to acknowledge her, then continued saying, "If we could do that, then we might be able to get Konoha back."

All attention, Kaede asked, "What could we do?"

"Well," Shikamaru began, studying her face and shaking his head slightly. "To begin with, we would have to prepare. We have weaponry, diagrams of Konoha, and maps that pinpoint its weaknesses. It will take a while, because we want Orochimaru to get comfy, to be confident that he got rid of us for good. By then, he'll have built up Konoha into the Sound village, and have everyone eating out of the palms of his hands." Shikamaru motioned for Morino Ibiki to continue. Kaede blinked at him—she hadn't even noticed his presence.

The head interrogator went on, "If we can get a few of the women and children, and remaining men to get into Konoha, saying that they survived and that they are begging for Orochimaru's mercy, then we'll have connections in there. Our paths lead into several houses in Konoha, houses that belonged to higher-ups in ANBU, such as Anko and myself." He sniffed, and Kaede rolled her eyes. Ibiki did have an ego. "By the time that Orochimaru has had the village the way he wants it for a while, we'll have the advantage, because our people will be inside his walls. When we're ready for attack, he won't suspect a thing."

Kaede nodded slowly, her mind still whirring from the fact that Sasuke was here. But she had to concentrate on the plan to save Konoha. Even if her lips were aching for Sasuke to kiss her again. Every other part of her body was throbbing, too, so why should her lips be paid any special attention?

"Sounds good to me," she agreed, and set Ibiki to the task of interviewing possible candidates for the job of getting into Konoha. In the state that the village was in now, there was no way Orochimaru could tell that the infiltrators were any different than any other survivors. Besides, he was a sucker for anyone who called him "Lord Orochimaru" or threw himself or herself at his mercy.

A more pressing matter was on her mind, though. She looked around the small room and spotted Sakura and Naruto in a corner. Making a beeline for them, she pushed through the throngs of other people until she reached them. She looked into their faces and begged silently for forgiveness. They knew why they had failed so easily, and Kaede bet Naruto wasn't too eager to let her forget it.

"Naruto," she said. "Sakura. Please, don't be angry with me."

"How could we not?" Sakura said, sniffling. "You caused us to lose our village. You didn't do what you were supposed to, and you made us suffer our greatest loss."

"I-I don't know what to say, Sakura," Kaede said, swallowing. "You're right. It's all my fault, and I don't think I can live with it. Unless we get the village back. But it will take a while to do that. Please," she begged, looking up at Naruto now. "I can't do that without you guys on my side. Please, Sakura. Naruto."

When Sakura gave a short, but determined nod, Kaede felt relief go through her, until she looked at Naruto's face. His eyes were narrowed, and he was glaring at her, angry and disappointed in her.

A hand landed on her shoulder and squeezed as she looked down at her feet. She shot her head around and stared into Sasuke's eyes. But he wasn't looking at her. He had locked his gaze on Naruto. Kaede and Sakura moved their glances between the two of them.

Naruto glared at Sasuke, who returned the look. The two young men stayed this way for several long, agonizing moments, until Naruto's eyes darted to Kaede's for a moment, and he nodded.

She felt like leaping into the air and shouting, but her composure wouldn't let her do that. But what she did do was turn around, despite her anger and hatred towards the Uchiha, and pulled him into a kiss that would have made any man's head spin.

* * *

**OMG, she kissed him! Yay, but not so much yay when you read the next few chapters! Read and review, please!**

**Nicola**


	4. Chapter 3

**I'm happy to say that everything will be right with the world of Naruto during this chapter. Love letters, realizations, and the "passing of the torch" will occur. So enjoy!**

**Once again, read the first chapter's disclaimer**

* * *

Chapter Three: Passing the Torch

Unfolding another blanket and laying it carefully over a sleeping child, Kaede smiled for the first time in hours. After setting out the plan with Ibiki, and getting Sakura and Naruto on her side, she'd left the small room full of her friends. From there, she had gone to the larger rooms—about the size of gymnasiums—where the women and children milled about, trying to hide their fear. Only a few of the men had made it back to their families, and those who had lost loved ones wept when others weren't looking. All the children, no matter their age, went off by themselves and silently fought back what they were feeling. Kaede's heart went out to them—they were so strong, even at their young ages.

She had carried blankets to ever person in the rooms, sharing consoling words with them, giving them comfort, providing them with something to cover up with in the damp rooms. For the children, she made makeshift toys out of the supplies she could spare, fashioning pillowcases stuffed with cloth into teddy bears, the handles of kunai knives into play hammers for them to hit the floor with. She played with each child individually, playing patty-cake, peek-a-boo, hand games, hopscotch, and a menagerie of other games. Some of the kids had brought along toys of their own, and happily shared stuffed animals, board games, and playing cards. Kaede encouraged this sharing, and watched with a warmed heart as the cheer spread through the mourning groups of kids.

After kissing the child lightly on the head, she stood up and adjusted the stack of blankets in her arms. Watching smiles on children's faces helped to make her day a little bit better. She wasn't in the best position of her life. Sasuke had reappeared out of nowhere, and she couldn't bring herself to ask him where the hell he'd been—she could barely think about him without getting queasy and having to sit down. Even after kissing him in the spurt of a small achievement they weren't on the good terms with each other. She couldn't look at him; he couldn't stop looking at her. He wanted to hold him; she wanted to be left alone. And on top of it all, Naruto wasn't talking to her. The blond kyuubi vessel had, for years, been her greatest confidant, before Miki, and even before Sakura had gained her trust.

Sure, the kunoichi was speaking to her, and even helping her with the children, but without Naruto there to crack jokes and make funny faces, it didn't seem right.

Kaede sighed and made her way towards a worried-looking woman with an infant in one arm, a toddler in the other, and a five-year-old tugging on her skirt. Silently, she took the weeping two-year-old from the mother and handed her a blanket for the baby. Then, she lightly tugged the older child off the woman's skirt and scooped the little boy into her arms.

Shushing the younger of the two and sitting down next to their mother, Kaede settled the two children on her lap and grabbed a blanket off of the stack she'd set on the ground. She wrapped it around the little kids and rocked them gently. The two-year-old yawned and nuzzled into her shoulder, grasping the blanket in one tiny fist. A pair of big green eyes looked up at Kaede, and she smiled down at the older daughter, and the little girl smiled back.



Across the room, unbeknownst to Kaede, stood Sasuke, watching the tender scene with warmth in his eyes. He wore simply a half-open white shirt and black, baggy pants, but something was missing. It was something about his face…his headband. He wasn't wearing a headband across his forehead like he'd used to. But that didn't matter. His eyes were only for Kaede, cuddling and comforting the probably fatherless children while the mother rocked the infant to sleep. All around the room, children were napping or playing with the few toys available to them. They, along with their families, would be here for a long time. No one knew how long the supplies would last. All of these people meant so much to Kaede. And no matter what, Sasuke realized, she would take care of them and make sure they had everything they needed. Well, he wouldn't let her do it alone.

With a determined nod, Sasuke turned and left the room, intent on helping his Kaede, and these people, whether she wanted it or not.



Kaede set the children down next to their mother, on three pillows bunched together to make a small bed. She gave the woman a one-armed hug, an encouraging smile, and a promise to come back later and see how everyone was doing. As she walked away from them, eyes already locked on another small family, she found her mind wandering to if she would ever have a family. No, she told herself. She wouldn't think that far ahead. Her only goal was to get these people what they needed, and to take Konoha back into the hands of its citizens.

She knelt next to an older couple, holding tightly onto each other. With a soft smile, she handed them one big blanket, and they took it gratefully. Next to them was their few possessions they had brought—two bags of clothes, and what looked like a diary. The old man, seeing her small glance at the book, smiled gently and picked it up, caressing the leather binds.

"It's a book of our letters to one another," he said, patting the space next to him and inviting Kaede to sit down. She did, and looked up into his crinkled face. His features were not hardened and firm like the other men. His were soft, kind, and welcoming. Like a grandfather, which she bet he was.

"That's so sweet," Kaede gushed, acting like the nineteen-year-old girl she was, and the old man and woman laughed.

"Yes," the woman said, looking up at her husband. "We've been together for nearly fifty years."

"Wow," Kaede said softly, staring at the book with a new appreciation. The wrinkled leather cover was faded and worn with age, and the pages yellowed. If these two people had been married for that long…their love must be a great thing, she marveled, still gazing at the book.

Seeing the warm way she was looking at the book, the old man handed it to her, pressing it into her hands when she tried to give it back. "You should have it," he said, putting an arm around his wife. "You're young, and we already know the words by heart. It needs to go to someone who will take care of it, and maybe one day, when you're old and still married with your own book of letters, you can give this one and yours to some youngster who needs it. Just like you do."

Amazed, Kaede thanked them and stood up, clutching the book to her chest. She picked up her blankets and strode across the room, heading for Sakura. The book represented much more than a relationship between two people. Its pages, however worn they were, and the words written on them, showed how a man and a woman could possess such a love than ran deep enough to last them some fifty-odd years. Kaede had not known something like that could stay strong for that long. Even she and Sasuke's relationship had always been sort of unsteady, no matter how much they thought they loved each other. When he left, it sent their link spiraling down an endless black hole, irretrievable, nonexistent.

Sakura greeted Kaede with a bright but tired smile and relieved her of her blanket burden. She noticed the book that the Hokage was holding and tilted her head. "What's that?" she asked, pointing at the letters.

Kaede glanced down, then back up. "Oh." She laughed softly. "Sorry, I was totally out of it. These are letters," she explained, flipping through the pages to show the other girl. "An old couple gave it to me—they're over there." But when she turned around to point them out, they weren't there. She blinked and scanned the room again, but didn't see them anywhere. "I guess they went to another room or something."

But Sakura shook her head. "Nope. No one is allowed to leave at all. Maybe they're laying down or something and you can't see them."

"Maybe," Kaede mused, rubbing her thumb over the spine of the book. She shrugged one shoulder—the one that wasn't injured—and linked arms with the pink-haired kunoichi. "Let's go see what else these people need."

Sakura balked, shaking her head. "No, Kaede. You need to rest," she reasoned, redirecting her through the door. "Come on, we can go sit down in the cafeteria and read through these letters." She held a finger to Kaede's lips when she tried to protest. "Ok, you used forbidden jutsu, were dragged eight miles, and thrown off the top of the Hokage temple. You. Need. Rest."

Unable to argue, Kaede agreed and they walked to the cafeteria, which was really just a large room lined with tables and benches made from wood. It was all rather dreary, and the only light came from candles, but it was all they had.

They sat down at a table in the far corner and leaned against the wall, propping their feet on the bench. Kaede sighed and opened the book to the first page. A withered, pressed rose fell out and landed on her lap. She picked it up and held it to her nose; the sweet scent was still there. She handed it to Sakura, who placed it on the table.

"OK," Kaede said, placing the book in between them. "So, who wants to read it first?"

"Um," Sakura mumbled, tapping her chin and thinking. "I think I'll read the first one, and then we'll keep switching, K?" When Kaede nodded, Sakura cleared her throat and read:

_Dearest,_

_There are no words to describe how much I miss you. Here in Suna, where the sun beats down on us during the day and the winds whip us at night, I can't help but think of you wherever I go. Whenever I step outside into the heat, I wish you were walking with me. When I wrap up in layers of cloth against the blowing sands, I want to wrap you up here next to me._

_Our work is going smoothly. Soon, the new Kazekage Temple will be up and you will be able to see what we have done. The other men and I are working hard to finish this project, and head home to our families. The youngest in our team, a boy named Daichi, says he has a girl back in Konoha waiting for him. It's sweet to see young love blooming so perfectly. _

_I've got to get back to work now, dear. I hope to see you soon, and I will write to you in every spare moment I have._

_Love,_

_Hideo_

"Aww!" Sakura cried, hugging the book to her chest. "That's so sweet! Oh, and he's so far away from her!"

Blinking, Kaede tugged the book from her friend and flipped to the next letter. "Here, it's one from his wife."

_Dearest, _

_I am so glad that your project is almost finished. I cannot wait to see how the new temple turns out. When are you going to come home? The other wives and I are looking forward to having you men return. _

_That boy, Daichi, seems to have caught the bug just like we did a few years ago. Do you remember? I can still see you walking towards me, holding that bouquet of roses—I still have one of them. Wasn't it funny when you tripped over your own feet in your nervousness and fell flat on your face? And just as you were about to say that big pick up line of yours. What was it…ah, yes. "Your eyes are blue pools in which I could drown in forever." It seemed sweet then, but I guess you didn't realize that my eyes weren't blue, but green. _

_Please be save, dear. I love you so very much, and am eagerly awaiting your arrival. Remember the roses?_

_Love,_

_Chizo_

"That's so sweet," Kaede whispered, looking at the dried up rose, as was Sakura. She reached out and picked it up, placing it back in front of the first letter where it belonged. Sakura turned the page and started on the next letter. For hours, she and Kaede read through every letter, ooh-ing, aww-ing, and clinging to each other as the words became sweeter and sweeter. Chizo and Hideo seemed to be so deeply in love.

When they turned the page to where the last letter was supposed to be, there was nothing, except for a faded picture. Sakura gently picked it up and held it to the light, trying to see it better. Both girls peered at it together, and gasped at the same time. Inside the white frame, two people, a man and a woman, stood smiling. The man's arm was wrapped around the woman's waist, their heads tilted against each other.

Even in the picture, their feelings towards each other were obvious. They were positively glowing as they stared at the camera, grinning ear to ear.

"Wow," Sakura said, tucking the picture in the back of the book again. "Those were so sweet. I can hardly believe the way they talked about each other. It was so…I dunno, fairy-tail-ending, I guess."

"Yeah," Kaede agreed, watching as Sakura closed the book and laid it on the table. The pink-haired kunoichi stretched and looked up at the ceiling.

"You know," she began, and Kaede glanced over at her before following the other girl's gaze. "Naruto has always been a little angry at you."

Kaede nodded, having already gotten that message. "I think it's because I became Hokage, and not him." When Sakura nodded slowly, Kaede went on, "The only reason I set my goal so high was because of…well, Sasuke left. And I guess I wanted to prove that if I was strong enough, and skilled enough, he would come back to me." She sighed. "He did, but just a little too late."

Sakura was silent. Kaede darted a look at the kunoichi, and saw the way her eyes had taken on a far-off look. She seemed to be thinking what Kaede had said over, and for a few moments, neither of them spoke. Then, Sakura said, "I don't think it's too late."

Gaping, Kaede stared at Sakura, but she stood up and straightened her skirt. As she was walking off, she called over her shoulder, "Sasuke came back for you, Kaede. I wouldn't let a chance like that pass me up."

The kunoichi walked out of the room, leaving Kaede staring after her. Kaede hugged her knees to her chest, still leaning against the wall, and rested her chin on top of them. Her eyes strayed from the book to the wall. She couldn't help but think about what Sakura had said. Sure, Sasuke came back for her. But what he'd done—leaving her—was, in her mind, unforgivable. And yet there was that little _thump-thump_ her heart did every time his name came to mind. She felt like she was torn in two, one side begging for Sasuke's arms to wrap around her, the other wanting to shun him. Her entire life for the past years had been focused around her village, but underlying that focus was something completely different.

Underneath that focus was the hope that some day, somehow, if she became good enough, that Sasuke would come home to her. She looked at the book of letters, then back at the wall, wondering why she became Hokage in the first place. Sure, she loved Konoha with all her heart, but she knew that wasn't the reason. She'd become Hokage to prove herself. Well, that just wouldn't work, would it?

She stood up abruptly, scooping the book off the table as she went. Her feet carried her at a flat-out run out of the cafeteria and into the room where she'd woken up many hours earlier. She found that her muscles were no longer screaming in pain—Tsunade must have healed her in her unconscious state. But that didn't come to her as a pressing matter. The only thing on her mind was reaching the old Hokage and asking her what could be the most important question for the sake of Konoha.



"Tsunade!"

The Sannin turned at the sound of her name to see Kaede dashing towards her at top speed. Her eyes widened at the sight and she waved her hands in front of her, mouthing "no" repeatedly. Kaede skidded to a stop just inches from crashing into Tsunade, breathless and panting.

"Um…are you OK, Kaede?" Tsunade asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes…can I….talk…to you?" Kaede panted, leaning on her knees for support and wiping her brow with one hand. Tsunade nodded, and allowed the Hokage to lead her to the same corner they'd spoke in before.

Tsunade crossed arms and stared harshly into Kaede's hazel eyes, making a point that this better be good. Kaede found herself unable to talk under the woman's gaze. She was afraid of Tsunade—why, she didn't know. But she would just have to suck it up and get it over with.

"Tsunade?" Kaede said a little more quietly that she'd originally intended. The Sannin lifted her chin in encouragement. Kaede took a deep breath and went on, "Say that you were Hokage again. And you were tired of your position and didn't think that you could fulfill everyone's expectations. So you wanted to give the title of Hokage to someone else. Could you do that?"

Tapping her chin and taking a moment to think, Tsunade nodded slowly. "I believe so." She paused and sized Kaede up. "Is there any particular reason why you wanted to ask me this?"

A mischievous grin spread across the young Hokage's face, she rubbed her hands together and stood on tiptoe to whisper in Tsunade's ear. The older woman's eyes widened and her smile matched Kaede's. When Kaede pulled away, Tsunade placed a hand on her shoulder, silently asking if this was what she really wanted to do. She nodded, and Tsunade pulled her into a crushing hug.

"I'm proud of you," Tsunade said in a low voice, then they parted, Tsunade keeping one arm around Kaede's shoulders. "Let's go find him, eh?"

Kaede nodded, and they walked across the small meeting room into another hallway. This hallway connected to a makeshift kitchen, more supply closets, and a small room holding white sheeted beds for those who became sick. Kaede and Tsunade walked into this tiny hospital, knowing that the young man they were looking for was in there, getting his battle wounds healed.

"I'm telling you, I don't need to be healed! I'm fine!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes as the irritated, familiar voice floated across the room. She gave Kaede a little push ahead of her, and the very nervous Hokage fumbled with the end of her shirt as she walked up to the blonde kyuubi vessel. Naruto turned to glare at her when she stopped in front of him.

"Naruto," she said, thinking of her words before they came out of her mouth. "A few years ago, my goal shaped into being the Hokage. I didn't care if I had to beat you and a dozen other people; I just knew that I would get there. And I did. But it was wrong of me. I wanted to become Hokage to prove my power, my strength, and possibly—," she hesitated, unsure of how she was to put this, "—bring back someone that left me." Naruto nodded in understanding, but his look was no less cold. "It wasn't right of me. You, on the other hand, yearned to be Hokage to prove yourself, to gain respect, and to serve and protect Konoha. Those are the right reasons to become Hokage. I chose the wrong way."

"Where is this going?" Naruto snapped, jerking his arm away from the nurse who was trying to bandage him.

Kaede sighed and locked eyes with the blond. He seemed startled by the fierceness in her gaze. "I am passing along the legacy of the Hokage. To you."

Silence.

"Wha—what?" Naruto stared in a mix of wonder and confusion at the stubborn girl in front of him. "Do you mean—" He hesitated, not wanting to voice the words that he had longed to hear since childhood.

She nodded. "Naruto, you're the new Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves." Carefully, she leaned closer to him and kissed both his cheeks. "Congratulations."

In a flash, Naruto was standing, knocking the poor nurse off of her feet, and he was wrapping his arms around her in a bear hug that rivaled Tsunade's. He swung her around jubilantly, repeatedly kissing the top of her head and thanking her. Kaede couldn't do anything but laugh at his excitement. Finally, she felt like she had done something right. Naruto had accomplished his dream.

He set her down on her feet, and she wavered a little, dizzy from Naruto's impromptu celebration. She was still laughing, she realized, and so was he. He grabbed her hands in his and held them tightly, his blue eyes boring into hers.

"You have no idea what…I mean, Kaede, this is…Oh, thank you!"

Chuckling, Kaede shook her head. "I know what it means to you, it's wonderful, and you're very welcome. You deserve to be Hokage." Feeling a little sad, she took her hands from his and touched his arm. "Naruto, you are the new Hokage. You have the love for Konoha and the determination that it takes to lead this village. I hope that under you, the Leaf will once again reign as the strongest."

Then, with one last glance at a still astonished Naruto, Kaede turned and walked out of the small hospital, Tsunade following her. The older Sannin stopped her just outside the door and smiled warmly at her. "You did the right thing, Kaede. You've just given Konoha the best Hokage we could have asked for."

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**Yahoo! And in the next chapter, we reveal where Sasuke was for all of those years. Keep on reviewing, I love you all!**

**Nicola**


	5. Chapter 4

**OKay, this is a short chapter, but I hope you love it. So far, i've gotten all positive reviews except for someone who called me a bad name, but forget them. You all love my story!**

**I don't own Naruto, get over it.**

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Chapter Four: Realization

Two months underground had past, with no successes, or any attempts at attacking the Sound. The plan to infiltrate what was Konoha had been moving along without any bumps and bruises—it appeared that Orochimaru was still as big an egomaniac as he'd always been. A few women, along with their elder children, had agreed to sneak back into the village and act as civil servants to the snake Sannin. They were brave to do so, and that bravery was greatly appreciated and honored.

After two months, Kaede had quite fallen back into the swing of being a normal ninja, not Hokage. And Naruto had taken a liking to his new position of power. He visited with everyone, comforted everyone, and set out jobs and plans for all the surviving ANBU. Kaede knew that Kakashi would have been proud of both of them, had he been there to see.

Kaede lay on the floor, staring up at the dark ceiling that she couldn't really see. Her mind was drifting away from the war, her friends, and the lost, and settling on the way things had been in the past. When she'd been younger, just starting out after waking up in Konoha, life had been easy. Training, arguing with Sasuke, having girl-chat with Sakura, and downing bowl after bowl of ramen with Naruto had basically made up her daily schedule. Of course, there were the times when more confusing and intimate moments had occurred between her and the Uchiha boy. Now, though, she understood his hesitation at making a relationship.

For the past few weeks, Sasuke had tried to speak to her over and over again, but she kept pushing him away. It hurt a lot to ignore him, but her pride wouldn't allow her to accept that he was back. She felt her heart wrench at the thought of that sad look in his black eyes whenever she turned away from him. There was no one else that she loved as much as she loved him. There was no one else she could imagine spending the rest of her life with. Except…

Except he left. He left her alone and without any reason for leaving. The only thing he'd left behind was a cryptic letter that didn't make much sense and seemed to have been written in a rush. Kaede knew he said something about leaving on a mission that was urgent and needed to be completed immediately. But how could he not come home?

She sat up and rubbed her hands together, trying to warm them up. It was chilly down there—it was always chilly—and she had given her blanket to an older woman whose son had died in the battle. What she needed was a pair of hands to warm hers. She stood, shoved her hands into the pockets of the pants that she'd been wearing for two days, and padded in her bare feet out of the crowded room to find Miki.

The Hyuga girl was in the makeshift kitchen, eating a little granola bar, when Kaede entered and leaned against the wall next to her. Miki chewed the last bit of the food and tucked the wrapper into her pocket. She smiled at Kaede.

"How's it goin'?" she asked, bumping shoulders with the other girl. Kaede laughed a little and returned the gesture.

"Pretty good," she replied, pulling one of her hands out of her pocket and wrapping Miki in a one armed hug. Miki hugged her tightly, and they ended up stumbling over the floor to the doorway and giggling their way out into the hall.

"You've got some muscles on you, chick," Miki said approvingly, looking Kaede up and down and nodding. "Those'll come in handy someday. Oh, by the way, have you checked out the training and sparring rooms?"

"No, I didn't know we had them down here." Kaede shook her head slightly and linked arms with the Hyuga. "Show me." At those words, Miki shot off down the hall skipping, towing Kaede along at her side. Kaede refused to skip for a moment, then joined in the fun and matched her friend's pace.

They toured down a hallway that Kaede had never been in before, and she peered around curiously. Most of the doors were shut and locked, forbidding entrance. Kaede didn't know why, and was not tempted to find out.

Miki halted at a pair of double doors almost to the end of the hall, causing her chestnut-haired friend to plow into her, unaware of the sudden stop. Miki held her footing and supported Kaede too, amazingly. She shook her head, pushed the doors open, and went inside. Kaede followed her, looking around her in amazement.

Behind the doors was a room as large as the gymnasium-like areas that held all of the people. Along the walls perched targets and stuffed dummies for aim practice. Hanging from the ceiling were several punching bags being beaten by ninja working on their punches and kicks. There were mats for practicing acrobatics, makeshift, hand-worked treadmills for increasing speed and endurance, a pool for working fire jutsu over, and so many other things that Kaede couldn't take it all in at once.

"Wow," she whispered, not even realizing when Miki flounced out. She walked slowly over to one of the punching bags and running her hand over it. Tightening her headband, she gave it a good whack and moved on to study the ninja that were practicing. As she watched one ANBU man work out his anger on a dummy, she remembered that Miki had said something about a sparring room. Where would that be? She scanned the walls of the room, finally spying a door with the words, "Sparring Area" written across the top. She made a beeline for it, eager to see who was inside, and how the ninja were faring off against each other.

What she did find there, though, made her heart nearly stop.

Alone, practicing style, moves, and technique, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, was Sasuke, clad in only a pair of black pants and an open white shirt. Kaede was mesmerized by his smooth movements, the way he held himself, how he seemed to be moving like water, so fluid and flowing. She leaned against the doorway, her hazel eyes locked on him.

He leapt into the air, moving himself upside down, holding kunai in each hand. He threw them out strategically, making them spring off of each other to hit the targets one the wall that Kaede hadn't noticed before. Landing lightly on his feet, he shook his head, apparently disappointed. From what she could see, his aim was perfect, but maybe to his experienced eye, it was just slightly off. When he turned, she saw his eyes glint red—his Sharingan was on.

And then, suddenly, he was gone.

Confused, Kaede peered further into the room, and gasped as someone grabbed her from behind, placed a hand over her mouth, and pulled her completely in the room. She heard the door shut and the lock click. Angrily, she grabbed the wrist of her captor and yanked his hand off of her mouth. She attempted to turn, but the person's grip held her in place. The hand that she'd moved away now made its way around her waist and pulled her to a warm body. She felt skin, bare skin, underneath her shirt. The way the person held her, though, was familiar. Eyes widening, she stiffened and tried to pull free.

His grip tightened around her until she relaxed, and he turned her around. She found herself staring into red eyes holding three black marks. When she opened her mouth to speak, he placed a finger against her lips, shushing her. Sasuke moved his hand to her chin, tilted her head towards his, and kissed her. She felt herself falling into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him back, lavishing the feel of his lips on hers. Her mind whirred uncontrollably, everything tuning out except for that moment, the moment her heart yearned for, yet stubbornly suppressed.

They broke apart, and Sasuke stared into her eyes. She realized with a little fright that his eyes were still red, and that the marks were turning into pinwheels. The little bit of fright turned to flat-out fear as she shook her head, silently pleading with him to stop, to not do this. Sasuke looked almost apologetic; he gently placed his hand on her face to force her to keep his gaze.

Slowly, Kaede felt herself slip into darkness as the power of Tsukiomi took her over for the second time in her life.



The sounds of rustling leaves, gently flowing water, and the occasional hoot of a night owl reached Kaede's ears as she struggled into consciousness. She felt something tickling her skin, a welcome sensation, and a breeze ruffling her hair. After two months without fresh air, two months in confinement, she was outside. She relished the tingling feel the scents, sounds, feels brought to her. Her senses were on a high, obviously enjoying the things she missed so much about the world.

But then it hit her: she wasn't supposed to be outside!

She sat straight up and took in her surroundings. The tickling sensation she felt was grass, green, soft grass; the sounds of running water belonged to the lake before her, gently washing the shore. It was nighttime, the moon was high, and the air was cool and fresh. She lifted her chin to the breeze and took a deep breath, reluctant to let it out. She got to her feet, spreading her arms wide and tilting her head back, her chestnut hair flying lightly behind her. She didn't care how she got outside, why she was outside; all that mattered was the rush of adrenaline pumping through her veins. Out here, she felt free.

That is, until someone behind her cleared their throat. She swung around, tearing a kunai out of her pouch and holding it in a defensive stance, shooting a glare in that person's general direction. A soft laugh reached her ears, and she relaxed slightly, recognizing it. Sasuke walked out of the shadow of the trees, arms crossed. He strode right up to her, grabbed her wrist, and took the kunai from her hand. She watched, frozen, both in fear and in anticipation. But for what, she didn't know.

"Do you like it," he said quietly, waving one hand across the view, his face expressionless. Kaede nodded slowly, trying to figure out why he'd brought her here. She recalled the incident in the sparring room, the look of the Mangekyou Sharingan in front of her, the feel of falling into darkness. And then nothing, except waking up outside, on the grass, in the breeze.

He moved away from her, turning his back to her and striding to the edge of the lake. Crouching down, he ran his hand through the water, staring at his reflection. Kaede stood frozen for a moment, watching him, before taking a few tentative steps in his direction. His head whipped around and glared at her. She stopped, startled. Her feet felt rooted to the ground as he stood, wiped his hands on his pants, and moved quickly to stand in front of her. He grabbed her face in one battle-roughed hand and stared hard into her face. His eyes searched her, looking for a sign of something Kaede couldn't quite figure out. Abruptly dropping his hand, he turned his head away, and Kaede just wasn't able to stop herself from reaching up and touching his cheek.

Sharingan eyes shot towards her, she jerked back, and stared horrified. What was wrong with him?

"Sasuke," she whispered, taking a step backwards. Remembering what Kakashi had taught her about avoiding the Sharingan by looking at a person's feet, she stared down at his black sandals. They moved away, back to the lake. She saw him lower himself onto the ground, pulling one knee to his chest and leaving the other one out in front of him. Hesitantly, she started walking to him, and, seeing no reaction after the first few steps, kept going and stopped next to him. Once again, no movement in her direction or acknowledgement.

She sank down on the grass next to him, letting the water run over her toes as she stared down at the rippling reflection of the moon. Silence. She was used to this. Living with Sasuke had taught her to be used to his quiet ways, convincing her to copy those ways and become as solemn as he was. She could wait it out. One of them would have to break soon and say something; they didn't have that long to begin with. When the others underground realized Kaede wasn't there, a panic would arise and a search party would probably come out to look for her. If they found her with Sasuke, she would be in trouble, as would he. He was in trouble for leaving the village and not giving word of his whereabouts; the only reason he was accepted was because of the dire situation they were presently in. They needed everyone they could catch.

The minutes dragged on like hours, making Kaede think time had perpetually slowed down and driving her insane. Maybe she couldn't out-quiet Sasuke. After all, he was silent ninety percent of the time.

Finally, she heaved a sigh and lay back on the grass, staring up at the moon and the stars. She watched the leaves sway on the trees, yearning to leap up into the thick branches and run away, leaving everything behind her. Sasuke, Konoha, the deaths of loved ones, everything.

In her daydream of leaping through the trees away from her honor and duties, she didn't notice Sasuke lay down next to her until his hand scooted across the grass and lay on top of hers. She looked at their hands; back up at him, and then at the sky again. Yearning for his warmth, she scooted closer to him, and he allowed her to rest her head on his chest. A calmness swept over her, drowning her suspicions and anger. The only thing that mattered was right now, as she lay next to her Sasuke—she smiled, thinking that she hadn't called him "her Sasuke" in a long time.

Drowsiness began making her eyelids heavy, but she forced them to stay open, not wanting to lose the time with Sasuke. His arm wrapped around her shoulders and he kissed the top of her head. Kaede let her eyes stray to the lake in front of them, but they halted halfway there. Around Sasuke's waist was a belt she had never seen there before. It was tied it what looked like a bow, it was rope, and it was…oh, god no.

She rolled away from him, leaping to her feet and backing slowly away. Sasuke stood, too, but more slowly, his face still expressionless. She stared into his cool, young, smooth features, horrified at the realization that seemed so obvious now. He had disappeared for years, with no word from him. Now, three years, over three years later he reappears, right after the attack by Orochimaru. The kunai knives during the attack, the pained expression on those Sound nin's faces. His clothes—the half-open white shirt, black pants—just like Kimimaro wore. Her hand flew to her mouth and she shook her head, her hair falling into her face.

"Kaede, please," Sasuke said in that even tone of his, walking towards her. But she kept on backing up, not wanting to understand. No, she wouldn't take this as an answer for those years. She would rather it be because he left for some other girl, not…not…this.

"Don't touch me!" she cried, jerking away when his hand reached out for her arm. Sasuke swallowed, his cool demeanor fading, fear and sadness taking its place. He stopped walking, but didn't stop staring at her. She kept on moving away, praying silently that all of this was some kind of crude, terrible dream.

And suddenly, she couldn't move.

Sasuke approached her, and she realized that she was under the Body Freeze Skill jutsu. He touched her face lightly, his eyes begging for forgiveness. "Kaede, I didn't want to tell you, but I knew I had to," he whispered, still sobered by her reaction. What else could he expect, though? "I'm sorry, but there was no other way. He can give me the power that I need to defeat my brother."

"All of this," she said through a barely-movable jaw, "because of Itachi? What is wrong with you, Sasuke? How could you do this?"

He shook his head, unsure of how to answer. Despite the jutsu, Kaede felt tears well in her eyes and spill over. "Kaede, he hurt you. He put you in Tsukiomi, it nearly killed you. I couldn't let that happen again."

"That's not the only reason."

Solemnly, Sasuke nodded. "I know." He sighed. "It's because of what he did. He killed our family, our entire clan. There's no way I will let him get away with that. But, please, don't let us be destroyed by this."

Kaede felt the jutsu leave her, and she stared at Sasuke. He had been inside their hideout all this time. He knew the layout, the entrances, and the weak points. He knew exactly where everyone was, what they were planning, how long they were prepared to wait. Orochimaru would value this information from him, and he would no doubt give it away easily, all for power.

All this time, he was working for that devil man, that terrible snake Sannin. He may have protected her from certain death before, but now was a different story. There was no telling how many people in Konoha he had killed, how many buildings and lives he'd destroyed. No, she wouldn't put up with that.

"Sasuke," she said evenly, perfectly matching his indifferent tone. "You ended us three and a half years ago." She reached behind her, pulled out a kunai, and stood in stance. "You helped destroy my village, and I have no choice but to fight you to the death."

At this, Sasuke sneered. He actually _sneered_. "You couldn't touch me, Kaede, not with a ten-foot pole attached to your arm."

But then, his expression turned to one of pain as a kunai sank into his stomach. He looked into Kaede's angry, hurt eyes and mouthed the word, "Why?"

She glared, shoving the knife in further, then yanking it out, her movement jerky and forced. "Not with a ten-foot pole, could I?" Her body stiffened, she turned from him, her expression furious, and she dropped the kunai on the ground. "I'm no match for you right now. The next time you see me, though, you won't leave without a fight." She took a shaky breath. "You're dead to me."

* * *

**I almost cried at this. I konw how much i would be hurt if the guy I felt so strongly for left me for Orochimaru! Wah! Next chapter, a nearly two-year time skip further into the war with Orochimaru!!!**

**Nicola**


	6. Chapter 5

**Okie doke, here is the next chapter!!! The fifth one, I know, OMGosh! This one is rather lengthy, and it's sort of confusing. But if you have any questions, just PM**

* * *

Chapter Five: Moving On

Kaede handed another bowl of ramen to another woman, the movement being so familiar that it required no thought whatsoever. She nodded as the woman thanked her and carried her tray to the next family. Little hands and big hands reached up and gratefully took the rations off of the heavy metal tray and many voices said a variety of thank you's. It was nearly halfway into their second year in this underground prison, and the amount of people left had decreased over the long months.

Those who had been sent out to work on the plan were successful so far. A few minor attacks were launched on the Sound by the Sand, a few Konoha nin, and by the Grass. Merely a few had worked, but the victories were welcome. After losing many ninjas to begin with, and several older men and women and smaller children after the first attack, the remaining Leaf villagers were desperate for some hope to cling to.

Handing out the last bowls of ramen, Kaede weaved her way in between eating families to the door, heading for the kitchen. She placed her tray on top of dozens of others stacked in neat piles, grateful that dinner was over and that she could now settle in her own corner with her own food. Tsunade, smiling sympathetically, handed her a bowl of ramen, a pair of chopsticks, and sent her off. Kaede returned the smile best she could, slowly making her way to the room that she shared with Miki, Sakura, and the others her age. When she shut the door with her foot and plopped down on her blanket next to Miki, everyone glanced up and nodded a greeting.

She picked at her ramen, swirling it around in her bowl before nibbling at one noodle. Glancing around the room, she saw that no one else was eager to engulf the food, as they normally would have done. Even Naruto wasn't eating with his usual gusto. Miki placed her bowl in front of her, laying the chopsticks neatly next to it. The rest of them followed suit soon after, their appetites lost in their current condition.

Naruto cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. What would normally have been spiky, exuberant yellow locks was now sagging and dulled from the lack of light. He put his arm around Sakura's shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. "Well, I guess it's another day over here," he said quietly, his blue eyes directed at the floor, the spark that was usually present was now missing.

"Yeah," Shikamaru agreed, taking out a cigarette and lighting it. He took a deep drag and sighed, smoke billowing out of his mouth and disappearing into the air. "Seems like we've been here forever, doesn't it?" When murmurs of agreement came from every person in the room, Shikamaru shook his head and closed his eyes.

"Can you believe it has almost been two years?" Rock Lee mused, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

"I know," Sakura said softly, nestling further into the crook of Naruto's arm. "When will we get out." It wasn't a question; it was more of a statement, Sakura being the only one brave enough to voice what they were all thinking. That this was never going to end.

"I wish it was over," Hinata whispered. All heads turned to stare at the girl. For months Hinata hadn't voiced more than a two words at a time. Miki had been there to help her, and interpret what she was trying to say, but this was the first time the quiet Hyuga had spoken without being asked to.

"We all do, Hinata," Miki answered, scooting over and putting a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "But all we can do is tough it out and wait, and help out in any way we can."

"How can we do that?" Neji suddenly snapped as he stood, his Byakugan turning on threateningly. Naruto leapt to his feet in a moment and stared sternly into the white eyes of the other man. "We're stuck inside here—we should be out there, fighting Orochimaru and getting our village back!"

"Neji!" Naruto said, his voice loud but not quite a shout. "What do you think we are doing in here? Letting Orochimaru take over everything? We have ninja going out and fighting for all of us down here. Think about it. Our village has suffered the greatest loss in history. Almost all of our ninja were killed nearly two years ago, and we still haven't recovered. Things like this take time. We need to let Orochimaru get comfortable, to let him put his guard down. We have to rebuild our society in secret. Sure, the Sand and the Grass are on our side, but the Sound has greatly increased its numbers, if by force or by persuasion. It won't be long before we are out there, all of us, celebrating our victory. But we have to wait."

Kaede stared in admiration at the blond Hokage. The way he was so easy about it, the way he spoke with such urgency and yet kept it cool was something she had trouble mastering in any situation. But as he spoke, she felt a growing guilt rise in her chest, and she struggled to suppress the unwelcome sensation. This entire thing was her fault. If she hadn't been negligent to her work, hadn't been dwelling on the past, then this would not have happened. She was the reason Sasuke had come back and been inside their underground haven. Knowing this, she figured it was why many of their attacks failed.

"Look," Neji said, his voice low, but his eyes flashing angrily. "There is one reason that we are here, underground, hiding from Orochimaru. It's because of the negligence of a Hokage, because she was too busy worrying about _Sasuke_, and not about the sake of the village!"

A collective gasp went through the small room, and Kaede stood, fists clenched, knowing just how she wanted to break Neji's jaw. Naruto stepped in between the two, but Kaede stepped around him, getting in the Hyuga boy's face, staring straight into those Byakugan eyes, unafraid.

"If you want to pick at my mistakes, then go ahead," she growled, prodding Neji in the stomach. "But I'm not the only one in here to have done something wrong."

"And yet yours seemed to cause us all the worst problems, didn't it?" Neji said curtly, visibly shaking from pent-up frustration. "It caused this war. It forced us down here for two years. It killed hundreds of people, and you still have the nerve to show your face and talk back. You're sickening."

"Enough!"

Startled, Kaede and Neji both looked at Rock Lee, amazed at his outburst. The green-clad man was on his feet, his brow furrowed. "Cut it out, Neji. If anyone in here is sickening, it is you."

"Yeah," Miki agreed, moving next to Lee. "You don't see Kaede picking on me because I sympathized with a Sound nin and didn't kill him when I could. She's not yelling at Naruto for being angry with her, and he forgave her."

"Only because she let him be Hokage," Neji muttered.

"Stop it, please," Sakura said, standing on the other side of Rock Lee. "That's enough out of all of you. Neji, apologize. Rock Lee, Miki, sit down. I'm tired of hearing you bickering. Sure, Kaede made mistakes, but the attack would've happened regardless of the time she received the message. Our ninja were in peak condition the day of the attack, and prepared despite the limited time. Orochimaru would not have quit until every single one of us was dead if we had pushed him back. He would've killed us himself. But we are here, and we're alive."

Kaede hung her head, ashamed. What Sakura said was true, but the weight on her shoulders would not be lifted until their village was back in their hands.

Naruto put his head in his hands and sighed. "Thanks, Sakura. I don't know how much more of this I can take." He looked up and glared in Neji's direction. Kaede followed his gaze, and found the Hyuga looking somber. He bent to his knees; his eyes closed, he bowed his head.

"Forgive me, Kaede," he said, and Kaede grabbed his hand.

She tugged. "Get up, Neji. It's fine."

Relieved, the Hyuga slowly got to his feet, his tired face painted with relief. Kaede smiled at him, and he returned the gesture. And then, surprisingly, he pulled her into a quick hug that lasted only a second before he turned away, looking slightly embarrassed.

Astounded and flattered, Kaede sat back down, picking up her long-forgotten ramen bowl and slurping up a noodle, suddenly finding her appetite.



"Oh, Kami," Kaede murmured, rubbing her temple and sagging against the wall. If she had to deal with this infernal woman one more time….Ugh!

Two days after the little outbreak with Neji, Kaede found herself once again caught in the wake of Mrs. Paylath, pronounced Pie-Lathe. This argumentative, hypochondriac, whiner of an old woman was getting on her last nerve. Every day, Mrs. Paylath came up with some new scheme to draw attention, such as the time when someone had accidentally bumped into her, and supposedly "taken out her back." Tsunade checked her over, dubbed her fine, and ultimately earning Mrs. Paylath's worst spite. This particular day, Mrs. Paylath was claiming that she had chest pain, pain in her left arm, and that she was going to die.

Kaede sighed and took the woman by the left arm, triggering a second too late shriek. She rolled her eyes and grabbed Mrs. Paylath's other arm and tugged. "Come on, Mrs. Paylath," she said in forced politeness, grinding her teeth. "We'll go see your favorite person, Tsunade!"

"Oh no," Mrs. Paylath resisted, digging in her heels. "I hate that woman. She shouldn't be a medic nin, or a ninja at all! You know, she ruined this country, and you, poor child, had to deal with what she left behind. It wasn't your fault this war started—it was that woman! And you know, she was on a team with Orochimaru. If she is such a good ninja, why didn't she kill him when she had the chance, hmm?"

Feeling her patience stretching to its limit, like a rubber band, Kaede said, "Ok, let's go see Shizune, then. You like her."

"Oh, I do! That is a perfect young woman. Now, she should have been Hokage!"

She bit her lip, hard, to keep from saying anything she might regret. The last thing she wanted was to get grilled by Naruto. Eager to dispose of the irritating resident, Kaede quickly dragged her to Tsunade's office, intent on making both their lives worse for a few minutes. She jerked the door open, shoved the woman inside, and hurriedly slammed it shut again, leaning against it and wiping her brow. One task, done.

Today was her day to go around the rooms that housed the people, asking how they felt, what they did or didn't like about the meals and those who served them. If one more person approached her and asked her when they were going home, she would snap—or hit someone, whichever came first.

Reluctantly, she plodded back into one of the gymnasium-style rooms and walked down the row she had left at. The second person was a just-turned thirteen year old that lost his parents in the battle, and grandmother to sickness. Kaede wanted to pay special attention to him—she knew how it felt to be alone.

She plastered a smile on her face and greeted the boy with a happy, "Hi!"

The boy looked up, nodded in recognition, and looked back down. She frowned, taking the seat beside him on the floor, letting him take his time. When he did meet her gaze, she saw something that made her heart wrench—the look of being hopelessly lost and alone glinting in his eyes.

"What is it?" he muttered, his entire face blank save for those green eyes. Kaede had to collect herself before she answered.

"I'm just here to talk to you again on what you liked, didn't like, etc," she explained, though the boy knew exactly why she was visiting him.

"Oh." He moved his eyes to stare at his hands as he laced his fingers together, pulled them apart, and fiddled with his thumbs. Kaede let him think everything over, understanding that to go through so much in just a few years had to be traumatizing. Finally, he spoke. "I don't like that woman, Mrs. Paylath, or that yappy little dog of hers." Kaede grimaced, already imagining the small mutt on a chain and muzzle. "The other people here are OK, though, and so is the food." He shrugged. "And you're nice."

She smiled, and decided to push the boundaries a little more by putting her arm around the boy's shoulders. He leaned into the embrace, surprisingly.

"But another thing I don't like," he murmured, feeling a little hesitant, "is the fact that we've been down here for so long and it doesn't seem like we're going to get out." He looked up with pleading eyes. "I don't blame you, ma'am, but I just wish thing had gone a little differently. I mean, so many people died, and still die down here. The Sand may bring us supplies, but its not like they'll last forever."

"Don't worry," Kaede said, touched by the boy's efforts to explain his feelings. "It will all be right with the world soon enough." As she stood up to leave, she looked back one more time into those lost green eyes. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Itake," he replied, and she smiled.



"Alright," Naruto said, pacing back and forth, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Since it has been two years already, I think that a few of us should surface to see how things are handling out." When collective gasps spread through the room of friends, Naruto held up his hand for silence. "But, there will only be three allowed to go. Now, I have thought for a long and careful period, and have decided that those permitted to leave will be Kaede, Neji, and Miki. These three have been picked for their skills, namely the Byakugan bloodline, ability to predict opponents moves, and their speed."

Kaede and Miki stood, excited, while Neji was slower to get up. He wore his usual mask of impatience, which the two women ignored. Kaede was just happy to be leaving this place again, to be able run through the grass and the trees for the first time in over two years. She knew that Miki was looking forward to it just as much as she was, but the look on the faces of all her other friends was killing her. They ached to get outside just as much as she did. It broke her heart to see their disappointed expressions.

She walked over to Hinata, who seemed the most depressed, and gave the girl a quick hug. In the other girl's ear she whispered, "I'll bring you back a flower. Promise."

When she stepped away, Hinata's face brightened and she nodded, so surprised and grateful that she couldn't form words.

Naruto motioned for the three chosen to follow him out the door. He led them down a long hallway, through several rooms and doors, until finally they stopped at a wooden ladder leading up to a trap door. Kaede released the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding and stared up at the small, square door. Neji and Miki followed her gaze, equally eager to climb out there.

"Look," Naruto said, giving them all a stern look that quickly melted into sadness and yet still held hope. "When you go up there, I expect you to act professionally, not like children." He paused and met each one's gaze. "Please, be careful. Don't get caught. If you are followed, take them on a wild goose chase, and do not allow them to find our hideout. It would make Orochimaru's day perfect if he could murder the survivors."

Kaede hesitated, then embraced the Hokage. He tightened their hug, holding them there for several long moments before parting. She wanted desperately to bring him along, but he was Hokage, and it would be too dangerous for him to leave. And then, suddenly, he grabbed her and kissed her.

Eyes wide and face shocked, Kaede wanted desperately to pull away, but found that she couldn't, and that she was falling into the kiss. She heard Miki squeak in excitement, probably thinking that this day couldn't get any better.

When Naruto finally broke the kiss, she stared up into those blue eyes she had known for such a long time. He grinned crookedly, sheepish, and rubbed the back of his head, much like the way he used to do when they'd been kids. "Sorry," he apologized, shrugging. "I've just always wanted to do that."

Kaede laughed, and punched the Hokage playfully on the shoulder. "It's alright. I have to admit, Sakura's got you trained to be a good kisser." He chuckled too, and soon after, Kaede found herself climbing up the wooden ladder behind Neji and Miki.

Neji pushed the trap door open, and blinding sunlight illuminated the dim, dank room. All three automatically placed their arms in front of their eyes as they emerged into the world they hadn't seen for years.

The first sounds that reached Kaede's ears was the chirping of birds, and the breeze ruffling the leaves on the trees around them. She saw the sun for the first time in an extremely long time, glinting lightly off of the ground, lighting up the world. The grass was beautiful green, the trees tall and welcoming, the breeze like the gentle touch of a soft hand. She threw her head back and breathed in, closing her eyes and letting the fresh air fill her lungs. Reluctantly, she let out her deep breath, lifting her eyelids to gaze at the marvel before her.

Neji and Miki were having similar reactions, both lavishing in the feel of the air around them, the warmth of the sun, the tickle of the grass on their feet. Kaede moved a few steps to stand next to her friends, smiling giddily, unable to stop. She saw that Miki, and even Neji were grinning in the same way. A laugh escaped her lips, spreading to both of the ninja at her side, until they were all giggling hysterically out of pure joy.

That is, until Naruto's wavering voice echoed to them: "Be careful…"

They stopped laughing immediately as they exchanged glances and leapt off into the trees. Neji led the way, picking his way carefully among the branches, still as graceful as ever even with the lack of practice. His Byakugan was on, as was Miki's, who stayed towards the rear. Kaede ran between the two, her hazel eyes darting this way and that.

After years of being in the dark, her hair had once again darkened to a deep brown, but her natural highlights glinted in the dappled sunshine. It felt good to be outside again, leaping through trees, dashing across fields of wildflowers, on a mission that didn't seem as simple as it should have.

No matter how much she wanted to run back to Konoha, attack Orochimaru herself, and bring those people home, she couldn't. Her mission right now was to see what was going on in the world, to make personal contact with the allies. From where they were, the small field that she had spent many nights in, was close to the Sand village. Several years ago, before she was Hokage, she had left on a simple scroll-delivering mission to Suna, she spent a night in that field—two nights, really.

Knowing exactly where they were, she increased her speed until she ran easily next to Neji. The Hyuga looked over at her.

"Neji," she said, and he nodded for her to continue. "The Sand village is merely an hour from here. We can make it in half that if we hurry, and I am sure the Kazekage will be glad to lend us beds for one night."

"Alright," he agreed after a moment of thinking. "Which way?"

"South-east," she stated, and they took a sharp turn. Miki rushed up just as Kaede slowed down to her place in line.

"Hey," Miki called, reaching Kaede in a few moments. "Where are we heading? Suna?"

"Yup," Kaede said, staring straight ahead of her. The joy of being outside was gone, and in its place was a feeling of determination and anger. Out here, Orochimaru ran her village. Out here, Sasuke stood by his side. Out here, there was danger, real danger, unlike the imaginary danger they faced underground. And yet, fear wasn't present. This…this….thrill of fighting, the adrenaline rush replaced the once-constant fright that had captured each and every one of them at one point or another. But now that that feeling was gone, she and her friends could concentrate on what was important: Getting back Konoha.



In only thirty-some minutes, after traveling with bursts of pent up energy, Kaede, Miki, and Neji made it to the Sand village. It was more desolate than they had imagined.

Where there once would have been many, many people milling about, shopping, chatting, and playing, was now nearly empty save for a few women and a child or two. The buildings lacked their usual upbeat appearance, their owners having either forgotten to tend to them or were just too busy. Those who were on the street seemed flighty at the three who entered their village so easily. Only the children were unafraid. They giggled and watched and pointed, speaking amongst each other.

As the three walked through the quiet village, they each struggled with their own thoughts and emotions. By looking at their faces, Kaede could tell that Miki was anxious to get going and completely ready to attack Orochimaru head on, and that Neji was just itching to return home. She shared similar feelings, a little part of her nagging and pulling towards Konoha. But she couldn't comply with it. If she went now, it would give the entire plan away. And most likely, she would die.

_Well, better dead than suffering, _she figured, and prayed silently for those who had perished in the war.

It wasn't very long before they were confronted by two Sand nin, apparently this country's ANBU. Since they were most likely unaware of Kaede's handing the position of Hokage over to Naruto, Neji and Miki moved to either side of her, their Byakugan activated, their stances protective and official. Only the Kazekage knew of the change in Kage's, and Naruto had made him promise to keep it to himself.

"What is your purpose here?" one of the men, a man with a cloth covering half of his face, questioned abruptly, his one visible eye narrowed.

"The Hokage wishes to meet with Lord Kazekage," Neji stated immediately, glaring daggers at the two ANBU.

Their eyes widened as they took in Kaede's solemn expression. Shooting quick glances at each other, the two men nodded and bowed their heads. "Our apologies, Miss Hokage," the one without the mask said. Kaede merely nodded to them, and as they stood, they requested that they be allowed to escort the Hokage.

With a shrug, Miki agreed, and all five of them leapt onto a roof. Kaede understood that she looked a little strange to be Hokage without the traditional Hokage clothes, but what did they expect for someone who had not been seen for over two years?

As they jumped, Kaede dug around in her pocket for that old, worn piece of leather string and tied her hair up with it. She tugged the knot tight and smoothed a few stray strands in place. It was a lot easier to run without her hair blowing in her face, and besides, she wanted to look somewhat presentable when placed in front of the Kazekage. From what she could remember, the Kazekage went by the name of Gaara of the Sand. And the man with the cloth half-mask was his old sensei. Gaara also had two siblings—Temari and Kankuro. Temari used wind-based jutsu with her giant fan, while Kankuro was a practiced puppeteer. Chills tingled her spine as she thought of the wooden puppets with their strange hair, limp limbs, and lopsided eyes. Those things were the epiphany of creepy.

Gaara controlled sand, she mentally reminded herself. So, since he was surrounded by sand at all times—hence the village name—he had an almost perfect defense system. She envied him. Her only defense was her speed and intellect—from what she had been told, no one could touch Gaara. Ever.

"Here we are," one of the men said, stopping in front of a huge, sand-colored building that was the Kazekage temple. It somewhat resembled the one in Konoha, Kaede mused, except for the coloring and slight structure differences because of the high winds and blowing sands.

She and her two friends were led out of the hot sun and into the temple. The rather large room they stepped into was brightly lit and dully colored. But Kaede didn't mind—it was more like home than their underground safe haven.

"Lord Kazekage is in his study," the second, facially visible man commented. Neji and Miki nodded. The layout of this temple was exactly like that of the one in Konoha, and they knew their way around pretty well. Besides, Neji had met Gaara before, and figured that if he had an office anywhere, it would be in the furthest, quietest place in the entire temple.

Up several flights of stairs, turning down a few halls, and stopping at a big, mahogany wood door. The brass knocker and doorknobs stood out brilliantly against the surface. Kaede reached out to rap on the door, but it opened slightly before she could, and a solemn blue eye gazed out at them. Recognition lit the eye up momentarily, disappearing as the door opened completely and an older, rather handsome Gaara of the Sand stood before the three.

In white and sky blue robes, his red hair in its usual unruly cut, and his blue eyes unblinking, Gaara moved aside and motioned them to come in, which they did, and he shut the door quickly, locking it.

When he turned, he looked earnestly at each of them. "I was unaware of a visit," he said, his low voice showing no hint of emotion, but his eyes betraying him. "Is this of an importance?"

"Yes, Lord Kazekage," Neji said, stepping forward. "We apologize for the intrusion, but we were also unaware of any trip we would be making soon. Lord Hokage sends us with a request that we gather information of the war that we have not been able to receive."

Slowly, Gaara nodded and moved to his desk. As he did, his eyes flickered to first Miki, then Kaede, lingering on the former Hokage. Kaede fought back the urge to wince, knowing that he knew this war was her mistake, and that he would probably be quick to rightfully place the blame on her shoulders. At his desk, Gaara dug around and pulled out several folders, which he handed to Neji before sitting down in his chair. He narrowed his eyes, resting his hands on the top of the desk, and stared at Kaede.

For a few moments, she stared back, until her irritation could be held back no longer and she snapped, "Will you quit looking at me?!"

Neji and Miki's heads whipped around to glare at her reproachfully; no one, not even a former Hokage, should insult a village leader. She glared right back at them, irritated that they would look at her in such a way. The man was staring at her, and now there was this little smirk on his face. What else was she supposed to do by tell him to stop?

Gaara cleared his throat. "I get the impression that you don't like to be stared at," he said in that emotionless, scratchy voice of his. Kaede bristled.

"No, I don't," she said lowly, forcing herself to relax. If there was anything she wanted to do, it was keep calm, be levelheaded, and not overreact or cause any more messes.

"Then I apologize," Gaara said, bowing his head in Kaede's general direction. She watched him, appreciative, until he looked back up and, in his quiet, cool way, invited her to come in front of his desk. She complied, taking a few steps forward until she was able to lean against the wooden structure.

"We would appreciate if your courtesy extended to allowing us a room for tonight," she said smoothly, keeping her gaze locked on those blue eyes. For a moment, all Gaara did was tilt his head and stare back; he then nodded slowly and held out a hand for her to shake. She did so cautiously, earning a small hint of a smile from the Sand shinobi.

"My brother, whenever the idiot shows up, will take you to your rooms, and provide you with any accommodations you ask for."

With a short, curt nod, Kaede agreed to the act of kindness and took her hand out of Gaara's. They looked at each other for a few moments before Kaede built up the courage to ask, "How has your village been affected?"

It took a few minutes for Gaara to answer—he was obviously troubled by the question and by the losses to his home—but when he did, it was straightforward.

"Hundreds," he said simply. "Hundreds of shinobi gone, but not to the extent that Konoha was. The Sound have yet to infiltrate Suna, and I plan on keeping it that way." He paused, watching Kaede unblinkingly. "Don't think we blame you."

His words would have sounded more emotional had they come from anyone else, Kaede figured, but they still warmed her heart. It was a pleasant feeling to know that someone out there didn't blame her for the war.

"At least, we don't blame you completely," Gaara went on, and Kaede sagged. So much for the warm and fuzzy feeling.

Then, the doors opened and a disgruntled looking man stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame, his arms crossed. Neji lifted his chin in recognition, and the man tilted his head in answer. The man studied each one of them, and in turn Kaede looking him up and down. Face pain that looked more like makeup made lines across his face, his black outfit with the hood and cat ears was the same as the last time she'd seen him. Strapped onto his back, as always, without fail, was his stupid, creepy, icky, mean puppet. She shuddered at the though of seeing its face again.

"Kankuro," Gaara said, his tone suddenly sharp and no-nonsense. Kaede raised an eyebrow in his direction but said nothing. "Take them to the guest quarters and tend to their every need."

Wrinkling his nose, Kankuro motioned for Neji, Miki, and Kaede to follow them, which they did. When Kaede glanced over at her long-time friend, she saw a cattish look on Miki's face, and stifled a giggle. The young woman had her flirtatious face on, probably aiming to make Kankuro follow his younger brother's orders. Tend to their every need. Ha.



Kaede sighed and flopped back on the first real bed she'd laid on in years. It was so comfortable, with its feather pillows, soft mattress, and warm sheets. All she wanted to do was to climb under the covers and lay her head on one of those pillows and sleep.

But, once again, she couldn't make herself close her eyes. For some reason, she was too awake to take a nap. Even though a yawn crept up her throat and out her mouth, she wasn't tired enough. Besides, someone—she couldn't remember who—had told her a long time ago that yawning occurred because of a lack of oxygen. She didn't know if it was true or not, but it was a decent explanation.

Miki was bunking in the same room—she was currently in the bathroom on her second hour of shower time—and Neji was in the room across the hall. The bedrooms were pretty luscious, with tall picture windows, decorated wallpaper, polished wooden floors, and canopy beds. Two twin canopy beds, each on opposite sides of the room, were pushed against the walls, one for each of the two women staying there. Kaede loved how homey the rooms felt, almost as cushy as her room at the Hokage temple in Konoha had been. A chill went up her spine as she thought of Orochimaru sitting on her bed, in her office, looking out her window. No, she corrected herself. Naruto's bed, Naruto's office, Naruto's window, not hers.

It stung to even think of what might have happened if she'd never become Hokage at all. Konoha would most likely be still at large, Naruto would have been rightfully in her place from the beginning, and Sasuke would still be there.

Really, it was all Sasuke's fault for leaving to go on Orochimaru's side. The black-haired Uchiha was just…him leaving killed her inside, and only losing him for a second time seemed to heal her. Of course, that didn't lessen her need for him at all—if anything, it upped the constant urge to hold him, to have him kiss her, hug her, entwine his hand in hers…

"Stop," she said out loud, just as the shower shut off.

"Huh?" Miki called from the bathroom, apparently thinking Kaede was talking to her.

"Nothing, Mik," Kaede said, shaking her head at her own stupidity. "I was just talking to myself. Nothing to worry about."

"I definitely think that's something to worry about, Kaede," Miki said seriously, peeping her head around the bathroom door. "Seriously, hon, it's been two years. I know you still hurt, but thinking about it isn't going to help you any. Just let it go. Go find some other guy to get involved with, like Neji, or Lee, or even Gaara. He seemed to like you somewhat." When Kaede snorted, Miki held her hand out. "Gimme my clothes, will you? There on my bed."



Shouts and loud, urgent footsteps woke Kaede from one of the best nights of sleep she had had in a long while. Aggravated that someone would wake her up like that, she threw the covers back and reluctantly got out of bed to open the door. What she saw immediately sent her ninja instincts haywire.

Dozens of fully dressed Sand ANBU were rushing up and down the hallway, calling to one another, their conversations mixing together. Kaede strained to hear what they were saying, only catching a few phrases, like "…attack on the…gates…" or "…spotted heading north-northeast," which frustrated her even further. But she understood basically what they were saying—that someone, most likely Orochimaru, was attacking the gates of Suna, and probably one of his Sound Four were heading north-northeast. Feeling a tingle go through her at the thought of fighting those wretched villains, she dashed over to her bed and quickly changed into the clothes she'd traveled in.

In the other bed, Miki was stirring and sat up as she saw Kaede moving around like a edgy cat. "Wha…?" she said groggily, getting up out of bed and changing only because Kaede was. Then, she too heard the noise and immediately sensed what it meant. A sharp glance in Kaede's direction later, Miki was blocking the doorway just as Kaede was about to reach for the doorknob.

"No, Kaede," she warned, pressing her back against the door. "You can't go out there. If it is an attack by Orochimaru, the chances are that one of his men will see you, recognize you, and tell him. And then our entire underground fortress will no longer be secret, and they'll come looking for us. For you. We're just lucky that Sasuke didn't say anything yet, or if he did, that Orochimaru hasn't acted on it, which is totally not his style. You know him as well as everyone else does, sister, and when he goes after something, he normally gets it."

What Miki was saying made sense, yet it had little effect on Kaede. She scowled and grabbed her friend by the arm. "Miki, move. I have to go out there, OK? There is nothing that can stop be."

"Please, Kaede, don't do this! I'm begging you, don't ruin it for all of us!" The pleading tone of Miki's voice halted Kaede's actions. She let her hand fall off of Miki's arm and land limply at her side. If she went out there and threw herself at Orochimaru, the most likely outcome was her death. But that wasn't the only thing that could and probably would happen. Everyone else would be affected. The sight of the former Hokage would spark an interest in Orochimaru, and he would follow through with it, searching relentlessly for the place where they were all hiding. All those people would die after such a struggle they'd been put through. It wasn't right to make them suffer even more than she'd already done.

"I'm sorry, Miki," Kaede whispered, looking shamefully at the ground. "I didn't think about how it would affect the rest of you. It was selfish." She turned and gazed longingly at the window. "I won't go."

A deep sigh came from tiny Miki, and the Hyuga put a hand on her friend's shoulder, squeezing lightly. "Look, you can go. But…" She hesitated, glancing at the door. "You'll have to dress up like a Sand shinobi. That's the only way you won't be recognized. Alright?" When Kaede nodded, she went over to the closet and peered into it, reaching in and taking a few things out.

She held them up for Kaede to see, and the Taijutsu specialist nodded in approval. The Sand ANBU outfit was made for a woman, and looked about her size. And there was a cloth that went over her entire face, save for her eyes. The leather string she normally used would keep her hair in a neat bun, and, since the color was dulled since the last time she was seen, it wasn't easily recognizable.

In a few moments, Kaede was ready, dressed from head to toe in Sand gear, including the Sand headband, which she momentarily protested wearing.

"Why would I want to take off my headband?" Kaede whined, glancing at the door every few seconds. "It's my honor."  
"I know, but wouldn't it look a little strange to be dressed up in Sand shinobi clothes and wearing a Konoha headband?" Miki argued, and Kaede reluctantly agreed, swapping her usual one for the unfamiliar one.

Just before she leapt out the window in the streets, Miki placed a hand on her shoulder. "Be careful," she reminded Kaede, who smiled slightly under the cloth and jumped away.

The cool night air whipped in her face, the sand billowing around her. The clothes she was wearing were specially designed to keep the sand at bay, and were working rather well. She didn't feel free, though, even if in a sense she was. Orochimaru was ahead of her, in the very near future, and she wasn't about to let the sense of being released from that underground prison distract her from killing him.

It wasn't long before she caught up with the rest of the Sand shinobi, who didn't give her a second look. The dark night sky, and the tension in the air combined to keep them from noticing that they'd never seen her before. Up ahead, she could see small flashes of fire, faintly hear the lilt of a flute, hear the screams that bounced off the buildings and echoed down the streets.

Another chill swept through her back; she ignored it, focusing only on getting to those flashes of light, those screams and destroying who was causing it. It was close, she knew, only a few leaps away. As her vision of the battle became clearer and clearer, Kaede became horrified at what she saw.

Men and women alike fighting, children hiding wherever they could, crying and screaming for their mothers and fathers, people lying dead or wounded on the streets, a huge, gaping hole in the wall surrounding Suna. The high desert winds were not discouraging the evil Sound ninja, thought it was an advantage to the Sand. They knew their territory, and knew how to work around it and make it more of an advantage than a worry. But that didn't bother Kaede very much. She'd seen war before.

What caused her to halt in her tracks and stare was a figure on the top of the wall, standing stiffly with his chin lifted in the air, his dark hair framing his face, his narrowed eyes scouring everything before him. A sword was attached to the belt around his waist, loosely slipped into its sheath. Red and black eyes scanned the scene, until they reached Kaede. They halted on the female Sand ninja frozen in place by the horror before her. She felt that he could see right through her disguise, right into the very soul that still ached for him. Her heart thudded in her chest, threatening to pound right out. Her hand flew up as if to still it, knowing that her hazel eyes were what was giving her away.

And then, anger and determination overtook the sadness and fright she felt, and she focused her chakra into her feet, disappearing and appearing almost immediately across from Uchiha Sasuke.

A smirk spread across the man's face, and he let out a soft chuckle. His eyes held no more passion, no more fire, just a hateful, angry glint that was barely visible at all. If she hadn't been looking for that spark, she would've called his eyes dull, listless. Black hair blew away from those slanted eyes in the fierce wind. Slowly, Sasuke turned to completely face the ninja before him.

Kaede stiffened and shifted into position, bracing herself for the attack that came a few seconds later. Quickly, she blocked Sasuke's punch, ducking her hip to the side to avoid the knee to the stomach she would have suffered. Retaliating quickly, she turned so her back was facing the Uchiha, elbowed him in the ribs, and spun around to kick him in the side of the head.

Her leg was caught in a firm grip, and she was swung into the air. She let this be an advantage to her, readying for his second lunge. It came in a moment, Sasuke appearing in front of her. Focusing her chakra into her fist, she slammed him in the nose, hearing the brutal crack with satisfaction. She then rolled in mid air, maneuvering so that her leg was above the bleeding Sasuke. Loosing a mighty yell, she slammed her leg as hard as she could onto his shoulder, feeling the bone snap at the force of the impact.

The ground rushed up to meet them more quickly than she would have imagined, and, forced to halt her attack, Kaede landed on her feet, whipping around to face Sasuke, or, rather, where Sasuke was supposed to be.

"Where did he—oomph!" The flat edge of a sword connected with her back, and she fell face forward towards the ground. She felt the mask around her face loosen slightly, but not concerned with it, she pushed off her hands to flip back to her feet. But someone grabbed the back of her shirt and hauled her up. She yelled as something sharp hit the tie of the mask. It began to fall off; she grabbed at it desperately, pressing it against her face, trying to prevent anyone from seeing her face.

And then, a warm, but yet cold hand tore it from her, turned her around, and before she knew it, someone's lips were pressed against hers.

* * *

**OMGoodness! A cliffie!! I know, you'll all hate me for life, but the next chapter will definitely be worth it. :D Keep on reviewing!**

**Nicola**


	7. Chapter 6

Yay! Another chapter done! I'm so excited about this story, and it has a very, very long way to go!!! 

**Keep reading and reviewing!**

**Nicola**

* * *

Chapter Six: Complicated Feelings

Surprised, insulted, and flattered all at the same time, Kaede groped blindly for the person who was kissing her. In an effort to dislodge them, she opened her mouth slightly, invitingly, and they took the bait. She bit down hard on their bottom lip, tasting blood in her mouth. When she wouldn't let go even after that person had cried out, a hand connected sharply with her cheek, and she gasped.

When she looked up, her hand on her face, she looked into the narrowed eyes of her once-beloved Sasuke. Her heart twisted, this time in anger, not sorrow or longing. She could see him nursing his lip with his tongue, and grinned mischievously. She licked her own lips, forgetting that he now could see her face, lunged at him, and knocked him as hard as she could in the jaw. He stumbled backwards, and she nodded in satisfaction.

"That's what you get, Uchiha," she snarled, grabbing a kunai and rushing at him again. Slashing wildly, she attempted to draw blood. Sasuke dodged her attacks easily; grabbing her wrist and swinging her around, he tossed her a ways off. She landed on her feet, still on the wall, and tossed the kunai out at him.

A smirk curved his lips upward, and he knocked the knife away with his hand. Kaede raised her eyebrow, and as she did so, the genjutsu kicked in. Searing through the air towards the Uchiha were dozens of kunai, pointing straight at his chest. His eyes widened, and quickly he used a substitution jutsu. The knives hit the wall with several loud, continuous clanks. Kaede growled under her breath.

Where had he gone this time?

She shot a look around her, trying to find him. Above, she heard a slight whooshing sound, and looked up, straight into the sharp side of a sword. Sasuke's speed was amazing, she thought as she back flipped away from the blade. He hit the wall running, his sword held up above his shoulder. He swung at her again; she ducked. Again, and she fell to the ground to avoid the strike. She swept her leg underneath of his, but he jumped and disappeared.

Something hit her in the back of the head, sending her sprawling on the hard, rough surface of the wall. She rolled over, instinct alerting her to the attack, and blocked Sasuke's sword with a kunai. The Uchiha pressed down, and she was forced to use her other hand to put pressure on him. But the shocking thing was that he was only using one arm.

Kaede forced herself to avoid his eyes, his Sharingan eyes. The three marks stared down vehemently at her, she could feel them. For nothing, though, would she meet that gaze. Nothing in the world.

They stayed that way for what felt like an eternity, brutally trying to shove the other off. Kaede closed her eyes, fighting with the images of the time she had spent with the now evil Sasuke. In her heart she knew that no matter what he did, how many people he killed, whatever he did to her, she would always have feelings towards him. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes, slowly rolling down her temples and down onto the wall. She saw Sasuke, lying next to her late at night, sleeping, his chest rising and falling in slow procession. She could hear his laugh whenever she did something stupid, such as tripping over her own feet or burning the pancakes at breakfast. She smelled his shampoo, a scent that wafted through their house every night after he took his shower. Memories flashed through her mind, of she and Sasuke at the park, on missions, arguing when they were children, quietly sharing dinner.

All of these things she loved and held close to her dearly, and all of these things she hated. She hated them because they reminded her of better days, when everything had been the way it was supposed to be.

The only way to get rid of them was to let go. Of everything.

Tears flew rapidly now as she opened her eyes to finally stare into Sasuke's Sharingan gaze. He was full of anger, hatred, and revenge. There was nothing there to give her any reason to keep trying. She took one hand off of the kunai, crying out as the sword pushed down on her other wrist. When she finally released her second hand, Sasuke's eyes widened and he tried to pull back.

She heard a crack as his wrist broke with the attempt to stop himself, and felt the blade slash her chest. Endorphins rushed to the open, bleeding wound, and she sighed, letting her head roll to the side. She closed her eyes, willing it all to just hurry up and end already. This was not suicide, she knew. It was accepting the loss of someone dear to her, and living with the scar. She would survive—the wound wasn't deep.

As the blackness closed in, Kaede saw Sasuke kneel by her, whispering words to her that she couldn't understand. She couldn't see his eyes, but heard the tone of his voice. It seemed almost….kind, comforting, _loving_. A smile spread across her face as she finally fell into unconsciousness.

vvv

Kaede groaned, moving her right hand to her forehead and rubbing her temples. The motion sent a dull ache through her chest, but she ignored it, the headache causing much more pain. Someone grabbed her other hand and held it, gently rubbing her palm and fingers. She licked her lips, swallowed, and opened her eyes.

Miki was to her left, smiling in a very mother-ish manner, apparently not surprised that she had gotten herself into trouble. Kaede turned her head the other direction, and saw Neji standing with his arms crossed against the far wall. She shot a smile in his direction, but he just lifted his chin in acknowledgement. Typical Neji.

"How long have I been out?" Kaede asked, finding her voice surprisingly easy to use, and her throat not too dry.

"A few hours," Miki answered, tucking a strand of her black hair behind her ear, her pale eyes twinkling. "You'd better be happy we found you. One of the Sand nin fighting saw you go down and Sasuke fall next to you, and rushed to tell his commander. Then the commander, Baki, headed in that general direction. Apparently, if his memory serves correct, he heard Sasuke talking to you, and not in a mean way that we would normally expect from him."

Grimacing at the Hyuga girl's coy smile, Kaede looked at Neji. The Jounin pushed off of the wall and moved to her bed.

"He heard something along the lines of 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Kaede, please. Don't. I didn't mean to hurt you, I didn't. I lo—'" Neji broke off, looking uncomfortable, which earned him and glare from Miki.

"Sasuke said 'I love you,' Kaede." She wrinkled her nose as Neji cleared his throat. "You are such a baby, you know that, Hyuga?"

"And you're a wimp," Neji answered simply, crossing his arms again. Miki stuck her tongue out at him, and Kaede smirked. They were definitely flirting with each other.

Clearing her throat in an obvious manner, Kaede turned the attention back to the situation at hand. "When are we leaving?"

"Oh, I don't know," Miki said, pursing her lips and tapping her chin with her finger. "I'm a wimp, I wouldn't know. Why don't you ask Neji?"

"Alright, that's it!" Neji snapped, stalking across the room. Kaede sat up quickly in bed, throwing one hand out to stop Neji before he leapt over the bed at Miki.

"Quit," she said firmly, and the Hyuga boy backed off, though his Byakugan activated irritatingly. "Now, when are we leaving?"  
"As soon as you get up," Miki said with forced brightness, pointing for Neji to leave the room. "And get dressed."

Obediently, Neji left and Miki picked up the folded clothes at the end of the bed. She handed them to Kaede with strict instructions to leave her bandages alone, no matter how uncomfortable they were. And then she, too, left.

Kaede slowly got out of bed, locking her jaw against the pain. It really hurt to move at all. But she was a ninja, and she would take it. She picked up the skirt and shorts, pulling them on, and looked warily at the tight shirt. Oh, Kami, would it hurt to put that thing on. Reluctantly, she held it in her hand and slipped an arm through it. She winced, but put the other arm through the sleeve, and cried out as she pulled it over her head.

Panting, but dressed, she strapped on her shoes and ran a Miki's brush through her hair. Once the dark chestnut locks were in place, she walked out of the room where Miki and Neji were waiting, standing rather close together, talking in low voices. It almost looked like they were holding hands, and Kaede wiggled her eyebrows up and down, finally understanding what was going on. Miki and Neji had a thing for each other.

"Ahem," she said, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. Immediately, they parted, looking down at their feet. She rolled her eyes. "Let's go."

vvv

The air rushed by them as the three Jounin leapt through the trees, heading home. Kaede was lagging behind, letting the two lovebirds chatter under their voices. It gave her time to think, anyway.

If what Baki had heard was true, then did Sasuke really mean it? Did he really still love her, somewhere beneath that vicious, cold exterior? And if he did, would he show it somehow? Her heart thudded rapidly at the thought of the Uchiha coming back to her. They could live together, finally having the life they were supposed to. But he wouldn't be accepted back in Konoha, if they ever got it back. And if she tried to sneak him home, she'd be shunned, too. The former Hokage, having a fling with a betrayer, a missing nin, an enemy.

She knew now, if Sasuke had really admitted it, that she would do anything to take him back. Even after letting go, she wanted to grab on again. Tearing her heart in two ways, she fought a silent battle within herself. She yearned to have Sasuke at her side, yet what he had done still forced him away. As they jumped, she physically struggled with these feelings, holding her head, shaking her hands, jerking her shoulders as chills crawled repeatedly up her spine.

They were nearing the entrance back to the underground hell. Kaede felt like she hadn't done something, and it was nagging at her. But when they landed in the field, realization swept over. She was supposed to pick Hinata a flower!

"Hey, guys, I'll meet you inside," she called to Neji and Miki, who were already reaching down to open the hidden door. Miki nodded, and Kaede jumped back into the woods, walking on ground now, searching for the perfect flower to give Hinata.

She looked carefully at every little bloom and bush, sometimes studying a flower, dismissing every one as not good enough. Finally, though, at the base of a tall oak tree that seemed separated from every other tree, there it was. The small blue flower, its petals delicate and silky, looked as if it were illuminated by a ray of sun peeking through the leaves on the tree. She gently picked it out of its little clump of grass, held it to her nose, and breathed in its sweet scent.

"Perfect," she whispered, heading back to the field. As she walked, she felt as if someone were watching her, but dismissed the thought as her imagination. When she reached the field, she walked over to the hidden door, made a chakra sign, and heard the lock click. Opening it, she slipped inside, making sure to seal it behind her. She climbed down the ladder, tenderly holding the flower to her chest.

The room she was in was empty save for Naruto, who was waiting patiently by the door. Kaede felt a little awkward around him after his impromptu kiss, still not quite understanding why he had done it. Naruto smiled at her, and she felt herself relax.

"So the mission went well," he said as they walked down the dreary hall to the rooms. She nodded, and he returned the gesture. "I'm glad to hear it."

"Yup," Kaede said. She really wasn't in the mood to converse with him; she was only concerned with getting the flower to her friend. "Is Hinata in our room?"

"She is," Naruto stated simply, turning the doorknob on their underground makeshift bedroom and opening it for her. Kaede walked inside, where all of her friends sat, stood, or lay. They looked up at her entrance, and grins spread across their faces. Rock Lee and Sakura rushed over to give her a hug, Shikamaru managed a smile, and Hinata didn't look up. Kaede quickly finished the greetings and knelt next to Hinata.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Hi," Hinata replied, in an even lower tone if that was possible.

Kaede held out the flower, and Hinata's eyes widened. They filled with tears as she took the small, but precious gift and sniffed it. Unable to speak, she hugged Kaede, repeatedly shaking her head.

Laughing, Kaede hugged her back. "You're welcome."

When Hinata let go, Kaede stood again and raised an eyebrow at Shikamaru. He was acting odd, even for him. Of course, it might have something to do with his not being able to go to the Sand, but why would he be upset about that? Then she understood. He, being the lazy genius and all, probably thought himself to be the most qualified, and was most likely struggling with dozens of plans thought up to take back Konoha and get rid of Orochimaru, even if his first one was working out well.

She let him sulk, walking out of the room with Naruto following behind. As they strode down the hall, Kaede couldn't help but watch the Hokage. It was summertime outdoors, and rather hot here underground, so he was without a shirt, and in a pair of baggy shorts. She stole glances at his well-toned chest and stomach, something stirring inside her that she never remembered being there.

Oh, well. It was nothing. Probably just bottled up emotions bubbling to the surface, trying to force their way out in any way possible.

She dismissed that feeling as such and smiled to herself. It was nice just being able to walk with Naruto, almost like they used to, and being able to forget their current situation. Things were on a low right now, save for the attack on the Sand that Naruto probably already knew about. Orochimaru had made no moves on other villages. For that, they were all glad.

But she couldn't shake the sensation that she had been followed. She really hoped that it was her imagination, because if it wasn't, it meant someone knew where they were and had the ability to infiltrate their hideout. A chill went up her spine at the thought. She looked over at Naruto, and saw him staring at her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Yeah, perfectly fine." Definitely a flat-out lie, but what was she supposed to do, tell him that she hadn't acted on suspicions of being tailed? Yeah, right!

The way Naruto was watching her, though, made her think that he could see right through her little lie. Ok, her big lie. But it was just one lie! How much damage could it cause?

A lot, she grumbled silently, brushing a stray piece of hair out of her face. One more mistake to add to her list. How perfect.

One moment later, a crash echoed from several halls over. Naruto and Kaede looked at each other, both urgent and frightened, and took off. Naruto took the lead, tearing through the hallways. Kaede was close on his heels, even more scared than he was. Maybe that being-followed feeling wasn't just her imagination after all.

They burst into the room where the crash had come from, and Kaede stood still in horror. It was the hidden doorway to the outside, swung wide open, the ladder in pieces on the floor, surrounding a crouched figure. That figure was oddly shadowed in the bright light, his arm resting on his knee.

His black hair stood up on end, his head bowed towards the ground. The sword attached to his belt rested against his hip, and his chest showed under a half open white shirt. The figure slowly stood, making barely a noise as he gathered his feet underneath himself. He stood with a lazy, superior stance, as if he knew that those in the room had no chance against him.

A growl to the left of Kaede made her turn her head, and she saw Naruto shaking, his eyes narrowed, his fists clenched. He was very, very angry.

"You…you…._Sasuke_!" Naruto lunged at the Uchiha, forming shadow clones as he went, grabbing him by the belt and swinging him to one of the clones. In a flurry of movement, the Naruto clones had Sasuke pinned against the wall with weaponry of all kinds, some even through the skin. Kaede winced as she saw the pained expression on Sasuke's face, even if he was trying to stay calm and collected.

Naruto threw the Uchiha's sword to the ground at his side, still shaking. Kaede moved to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto," she whispered, but he shook her off.

"I won't let you take up for him, Kaede," he snapped. "Not even if you still have that childish crush."

She grimaced, wishing that he hadn't said that. Once again, she tried to convince him to leave Sasuke alone. "Please, Naruto, don't do anything drastic. He didn't try to fight back, Naruto. He's not here to hurt us."

"Kaede, stay out of this!" Naruto roared, shoving Kaede back. She stumbled and her back hit the wall. The wind was knocked out of her; she slid to the floor, gasping and holding her chest. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sasuke jerk his head in irritation. _Please, don't let anything happen to either of them._

Naruto picked the sword up from the ground, unsheathed it, and twirled it in his hand to get a better grip. He walked over to Sasuke and held the blade up to his neck. Sasuke stared down at his former teammate, unafraid.

"It ends here for you, Sasuke," Naruto said in a voice so low that Kaede had to strain to catch his words. A light chuckle was the only sound Sasuke made. Naruto growled. "You had your chance to come back, and you didn't take it. You're finished."

Sasuke continued to laugh in Naruto's face. "You don't have the guts to kill me, Naruto. You're still the stupid little Dobe you were when I left."

Kaede had finally regained her breath enough to stand, and her eyes widened when Naruto pressed the blade further onto Sasuke's neck. Her mind whirled with the choices at hand. She could assist Naruto in the Uchiha's demise, and earn a place of honor in her village. Or, she could stand up for Sasuke, and be killed for treachery and being a trademark "Benedict Arnold." Oh, Kami, what could she do?

Fortunately, she was saved the decision, for at that moment, Sasuke tore his sleeve and knocked Naruto away from him. Naruto flew across the room, slamming into the wall and collapsing to the ground. Sasuke yanked the rest of the weaponry from his clothes and skin, ignoring the bleeding wounds. He walked over to Kaede, reached out to her and touched her face. She let out a shaky breath, shuddering in a horrible mix of wanting to retch and wanting this moment to last forever.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke whispered, and whacked her across the face, knocking her to the ground. She cried out as her head hit the floor, and she looked up at Sasuke.

"Why," she began, but was stopped as Sasuke pressed his foot against her chest. She stared at it, shocked.

He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Meet me outside by the lake at midnight." And then, with a satisfied chuckle, he leapt up and out into the world, the door closing and sealing behind him.

vvv

Later on that night, after a loud, angry, and slightly physical lecture from Naruto, Kaede crept out of the room shared with her friends and quietly shut the door behind her. She was on her way to meet Sasuke, just like he had asked. Why she was going, she couldn't fathom. Something had just pleaded inside of her to meet with him. Maybe it was that irritating little voice she'd thought she had gotten rid of years ago. Whatever it was, it had convinced her that seeing Sasuke was the best choice.

In her heart, she knew that she couldn't have the best of both worlds, but for now, it seemed the only way.

She slipped into the tiny room that held the hidden door. The ladder had been replaced earlier with a new one, and as she set her hand on it, she shivered. If Naruto found her, she would be dead. After his fight with Sasuke, he had regained consciousness quickly and placed the blame on her inability to get over her "little crush." He had shoved her, shaken her, and yelled in her face for thirty straight minutes while she stood there and let him. She blocked those images from her mind and started to climb.

Placing one hand on the door, Kaede made a chakra sign, and heard it click. The seal had vanished, leaving the hidden doorway open, and she pushed. It opened, and she carefully pulled herself through.

The humid night air hit her like a welcome blast in the face, and she barely had time to remember that she'd been out there only hours earlier before the door slipped from her hand to hit the ground with a crash. She winced, and knelt in the grass, pressing her ear against the hidden door to detect any sound. Nothing.

She released the breath she'd been holding and got to her feet. She ran a hand over her forehead and sighed. Sasuke had said to meet him by the lake. Which was…that direction. Not caring who heard her out here, she set off at an easy jog across the grass, her feet swishing the tiny green blades. The rush she felt of sneaking around beat anything she'd ever experienced, even the thrill of beating Naruto for the first time. She smiled at the memory, wishing everything were still that way.

It wasn't long before she reached the lake, and she slowed when it came into view. She couldn't see anything in the dim moonlight other than the silver orb's reflection on the water and a few shadows of trees. Slowly, she walked over to the waters edge, knelt down, and dipped her hand into the cool water. She swirled her fingers around in the lake, feeling suddenly lonely.

That is, until another hand dipped into the lake and pulled hers from the water. The hand held hers for a moment, its thumb running over her palm. She watched it, following the arm up to a shoulder, up to a face. A small smile spread across her features as Sasuke tugged her to her feet.

His hand reached up and touched her cheek lightly, his thumb gently rubbing her cheekbone. She searched his face for some trace that he hadn't just come tonight to further torture her. She relaxed as she found the answer in the way his mouth tilted upwards in a tiny, crooked smile.

Neither of them said anything when he led her over to a spot overlooking the entire lake. They sat down on the soft grass; absorbing the view of the beautiful water shifting up on the shore, then back down, over and over again. Sasuke still held Kaede's hand, lacing his fingers in hers. He pulled their hands to his face and kissed her hand, his lips barely brushing her skin. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel.

Her eyes pleading, Kaede rested her head on Sasuke's shoulder, tensing for his reaction. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, and she relaxed, laying her hand on her lap. Sasuke planted a gentle kiss on the top of her head, nuzzling her hair and placing his cheek there. Kaede felt her heart flutter, knowing that this was the answer to her question: Sasuke still loved her.

For a long time they sat there, not speaking a word, just enjoying each other's company, company they both had craved for years. Kaede did not want this spell to break; she wanted this to last forever, to never have to go back underground and hide for the rest of her life. She wanted to stay with Sasuke.

"Kaede."

She started, not expecting him to speak. Her hazel eyes looked up at him, then back at the lake, fearing what was coming.

"Kaede," he said again, and she squeezed his hand to let him know she was listening. "We have to leave."

"No," she said stubbornly, nestling closer to him. He held her tighter, apparently just as reluctant to let her go.

"I don't want to either, but there's no possible way we can stay out here. Your friends will find that you're missing, and come to look for you. Naruto will especially be angry, because he knows how you and I feel towards one another." Sasuke sighed. "There is nothing more in the world that I want than to stay here with you. But Orochimaru will come looking for me, also, if I do not report back to him."

Kaede, reluctant but understanding, nodded and scooted away so that he could stand. Once on his feet, Sasuke reached down and helped her up. He pulled her into an embrace; she rested her head against his chest, listening to the steady _thrum-thrum, thrum-thrum _of his heart. His hand rubbed her back, the side of his face against the top of her head. A whimper escaped from Kaede as Sasuke forced them to part.

"Please, Sasuke," she begged, looking pleadingly into his face. "Don't go. I won't see you again, I know it. Stay."

A small hint of a smile made his lips twitch as he leaned over to whisper into her ear. She shivered at his words and reached up to run a hand through his hair, but he was already gone.

Fighting back tears and suddenly cold, Kaede turned around and began the walk back to the underground hideout.

vvv

At dawn that same morning, Kaede was still up, her knees hugged to her chest, staring at the wall. Miki was the first to stir, yawning, smacking her lips, and stretching. She peered blearily at the mesmerized girl to her left and blinked.

"Hey, girl, whatcha lookin' at?"

Kaede nearly jumped out of her skin, startled beyond entirety by Miki. She shook her head and shrugged. "The wall."

Raising an eyebrow, Miki tossed her thin blanket off of her legs and rubbed her face. She wasn't the best morning person in the world, and everyone knew it. When she got up, so did the rest of them, and if someone tried to wake her up, a pillow viciously attacked them.

"Good morning, everyone!" Miki said loudly. The others in the room groaned, pulled their blankets up, and shoved their heads underneath their pillows. Miki stood, whipping out a kunai and using the handle to beat mercilessly against the wall. "Up, up, up!"

"For Kami's sake, Miki!" Naruto snapped, balling up his blanket and chucking it at her. She moved aside, letting the soft ball whack Kaede in the face. Disgruntled and surprised, Kaede threw it at Shikamaru, thinking that since he wasn't covered up by a blanket, he had hit her with his, when, in truth, Rock Lee had stolen it.

"What the hell!" Shikamaru yelped, sitting up and looking around the room. Kaede put on her best innocent face and looked around, too. "Aargh!" Shikamaru growled, slapping Rock Lee on the back of the head with it. "You dimwit! You stole my blanket!"

"Hurrumphgah," Lee mumbled, not quite awake. Shikamaru hit him repeatedly, until on the fourth swing, Rock Lee threw his blanket over the Nara's head. Blinded, Shikamaru toppled over onto Neji, and Lee snickered. The Hyuga rolled over, startled to see a sheeted Shikamaru lying across his stomach.

"Get off," Neji growled in a low voice, and shoved the other Jounin off. Shikamaru skidded across the floor, hitting Sakura in the knees. She cried out and swung, knocking Naruto in the jaw.

"Ah! Sakura!" he yowled, holding his bruised chin.

"Oh, Naruto, I'm sorry!" she wept, now crying for reasons she didn't know. As she tried to apologize to the Hokage, Hinata sat up, rubbing her eyes, and ran smack into Miki.

"Oh!" Miki gasped, falling forward onto Kaede, who in turn threw out an arm and hit Rock Lee, who had been lying down, watching all the commotion. He hollered as her flailing limb hit his lip into his tooth, which pierced his lip and drew blood.

And then, it all stopped, because everyone was drawn to their feet by some other force and held in place. Their eyes darted around, looking for the source, and landed on Shikamaru, standing lazily in the middle of the room. He crossed his arms, and so did everyone else. Shooting a glare at every one of them, Shikamaru released the shadow jutsu and left the room, murmuring, "Women."

Sakura wiped her face, standing up with Naruto, who was nursing his jaw. Neji had his hands behind his head, bored; Hinata was rubbing her forehead after colliding with Miki's bony rear end; Rock Lee was smiling sheepishly and shouting apologies after Shikamaru. And Kaede was ignoring them all, still not all there.

Sure, now she was bruised and stunned, but she was just too distracted to pay attention to anyone. As her friends stood up and milled around the room, tidying it up, she joined them, working robotically while her mind wandered.

For the millionth time that morning, she found herself thinking about her hour spent by the lake. That one, blissfully spent hour. She sighed, wishing that she was still there, in his arms, just relaxing and forgetting about everything else. She dared not even think his name, much less speak it; it was much safer to just refer to him as "him."

A smile spread across her face as she thought of the words he had whispered to her mere hours before. It wouldn't be long, she told herself, before she saw him again. His soft, smooth, silky voice always sent chills down her spine, and seeing the beautiful ninja made her want to burst with happiness. She knew that it was forbidden, which made it all the more exciting. The only thing keeping her and him apart seemed to be her pride in her village, her reluctance to betray it, and his reluctance to not kill his brother.

She understood how he felt—if someone had destroyed her entire clan, everyone she knew and loved, she would go after him or her with everything she had. He was doing the same thing for the Uchiha's, avenging their deaths. If there was one thing she admired about him, it was his determination and grit.

"Kaede, time for breakfast rounds," Miki told her, and Kaede finished folding her blanket up, placed her pillow on top of it in a corner, and followed her friend out. They made their way to the kitchen, picked up their trays laden with bowls of grits and oatmeal, and headed to one of the gymnasium-style rooms.

Expectant eyes bore into them as they entered through the double doors and began handing out the food. Depending on age, weight, and health, they distributed the proper amount of grits or oatmeal, whatever the person preferred. Kaede had to admit that the food wasn't the greatest in the world, but it was as much as the Sand could afford to give to them.

Thank you's followed Kaede and Miki around the room. Every now and again, Kaede would bend down to give a woman, man, or child a hug, whisper comforting words in their ear, or speak with them for a moment. They were all used to this routine, used to being down here, but none of them enjoyed it any more. There was nothing anyone could do to make it more fun, more tolerable that it already ways. It was basically impossible.

After refilling their trays twice and rounding the gymnasium, Kaede and Miki finally settled down with their own breakfast—an apple apiece. They were trying to keep in shape with the limited amount of exercise permitted down here, and this was one way to prevent their trim figures from bulging out.

As Kaede bit into her apple and munched, she caught Miki glancing oddly at her; obviously, there was something up. She swallowed and took another bite, peeking out of the corner of her eye to check if Miki was still watching. The Hyuga was. This went on for a few minutes before Kaede became irritated and burst out, "What?!"

Smiling, Miki shrugged. "Nothing."

"It must be something, cause you've been staring at me for the past forever! What is up, Mik?"

"Well…." Miki set her apple on the table and twirled it by the stem. "Where did you go last night, Kaede?"

Panic lashed through Kaede, chilling her to the very bones. How had Miki known she'd left? She was almost positive no one had been awake. Had they? Oh, Kami, what if the little snoop had figured out where she went and who she was seeing? She would most likely tell Naruto, who would in turn give Kaede a screaming for sneaking out and visiting with…him.

"Uh, what're you talking about?" she said, not so smoothly. _Good going, _she grumbled at herself.

"You know," Miki said. "Last night, when you snuck out somewhere around midnight, I'm guessing. Where did you go?"

Kaede racked her brain for an answer. Crud. "I…went to the bathroom."

Miki nodded slowly. "Uh-huh. And did you break the sink or something after you went?"

"What?"

Rolling her eyes, Miki said, "As in, the huge crash I heard a few minutes after you left that almost woke everyone up."

"Oh." Ugh! How she hated that word! Kaede licked her lips, her mouth suddenly really, really dry. "No, it wasn't me. Some little kid got into the kitchen and broke two plates. I guess he was trying to get something to eat or whatever. I put him back to bed, so no harm done."

Not looking completely convinced, Miki finished off her apple and tossed it into the trashcan. "Alrightly." She stood, stretched, and left.

Kaede leaned back in her chair, relieved. For a moment there, she was positive that Miki knew everything. But it seemed like the other girl had believed her. It was a good thing, too. Since Miki was getting cushy with Neji, she was bound to let slip something, and then, of course, Neji would tell Naruto, who would in turn bite Kaede's head off. At least she hadn't figured it out. Or if she had, she was a damn good actor.

Not very hungry, Kaede threw her apple in the trash and left the kitchen, feeling restless. There wasn't much to do that she hadn't already. She trained with her friends, trained the ANBU that were left, communicated with the agents in the Sound, and talked war plans with Naruto and Shikamaru on a daily basis. In fact, she trained and worked so much her arms were more muscular than before! She rubbed her upper arm and rolled her shoulder. For someone who was usually extremely active, living underground for two years really made Kaede irritable and jumpy.

Oh, well.

She smiled coyly as she left the kitchen, her mind already set on what would happen later that night.

* * *

I can't believe how far this story has gone. Well, considering how long my chapters are. :D Anywho, I am excited to read the reviews I'll get from my avid readers

Luv ya

Nicola


	8. Chapter 7

**OMG, this chapter is so dramatic. I played intense music the entire time. But don't worry, everything will turn out all right at the end. The end of the story, that is.**

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Chapter Seven: Fighting for their Lives

It was after lunchtime, everyone having already eaten as peacefully as they could in the current living conditions. The eight Jounin left from the original teams years ago were performing the tiresome task of washing dishes, the normal crew having been struck with a unanimous bout of the flu.

Kaede's arms were soaked up to the elbows in suds and warm water, her hands red and raw from scrubbing plates, bowls, and utensils. She had lost count of the amount of kitchen things she had washed at around fifty-seven. Miki, though, was still drawing little tick marks for every bowl, plate, fork, spoon, and chopstick that went through the makeshift assembly line at the washing basins.

"Eighty-three bowls!" the Hyuga announced to groans and complaints. Everyone was tired and soapy from this tedious task. Kaede was right up their with them, trying to keep her thoughts on something other than her hurting hands and aching back.

The sound of unsteady feet stumbling down the hallway turned everyone's head towards the door, ready to wince at the crash that seemed inevitable. But, surprisingly, it didn't come.

Balancing all of the eating supplies precariously on his hands, shoulders, arms, and head, Rock Lee appeared in the doorway, an impish grin pasted on his face. "Here are more for us to wash!"

After the groaning, moaning, and muttering, Miki half-turned to Kaede as she dunked a few more plates in the washing basin in front of her. "You know, I have half a mind to knock him over and let all of those damn things break."

Kaede giggled, wiping a splash of suds off of her cheek with her shoulder. "Yeah, and you know what would happen then? We'd have to wash floors, cause no one would have anything to eat on."

"Oh, no, please!" Miki whined, feigning a dizzy spell. She spun around, bobbled, and stumbled a few steps. Kaede watched her, amused. She was almost brought to laughter until Miki actually tripped.

The little misstep sent the Hyuga girl spiraling towards a wobbling Lee. She was an unstoppable force, and Kaede cried out, "Miki!"

Everyone looked, horrified, and the scene that was about to occur. Naruto was the only one that leapt into action, though.

He launched himself at Miki, knocking into her and sending them both into the wall. They hit with a loud thud, and landed in a tangled mess on the ground. Rock Lee and the rest of the Jounin heaved a sigh of relief.

"Nice one, Naruto," Lee congratulated, taking a step towards the counter so he could set the plates down. Just as he was about to relieve himself of his breakable burdens, a resounding bang chorused down the halls, coupled with shouts and slow, but urgent footsteps.

At the same time, they all jumped in surprise and darted for a look out the kitchen door. In their rush to see what the hell was going on, they didn't realize they had spun Rock Lee around several times, and sent him and the eating supplies crashing to the ground.

The sound of breaking glass and clattering utensils echoed through the room, momentarily distracting everyone but Naruto and Kaede from the ruckus in the hallway.

Bleeding, doubled over, and with pleading eyes, a Konoha ninja ran as fast as his injured self could, shouting, "Help! Help, Lord Hokage! An invasion! They're here!" His pained and hopeful eyes spotted Naruto and Kaede rushing into the hallway, having finally understood what he was saying. He grabbed onto Naruto's arm for support, hacking up a mouthful of blood and spitting at their feet. Kaede placed a hand on his shoulder, scanning his injuries.

The man had long, gaping slashes across his stomach; he was bleeding out of the corners of his mouth; Kaede was surprised that he was able to form whispers, much less shout down the hallway and run to find the Hokage. He was, truly, dedicated to his village.

"Man!" Naruto said firmly, holding the ninja's distancing gaze. "Where are they? How far have they gotten? Speak!"

"Naruto!" Kaede snapped. "The man is dying, he can barely talk."

The Hokage glared. "If he can yell loud enough for us to hear him, then he can talk long enough to tell us what is going on." He turned back to the ninja, and his eyes widened. "I know him…"

Slowly, those eyes ran over Kaede's face, and she gasped. She had thought he looked familiar, but this was…this was just too close to home for comfort. His gray eye was squinted tightly, against the pain, as if he knew he was fighting a losing battle for his life. The other eye, though, was worse. The red and black orb stared firmly up at them; if weakened it did not show it. The intensity of its gaze took Kaede's breath away, and she had to look away to his forehead. His headband was righted, as it was when the battle was fierce, and his gray hair was cropped short. It lay meekly in small locks around his pale face, no longer spiky and alert as it once had been.

"Oh, God no," Kaede whispered, shaking her head. But then her instincts kicked in and she turned to the group of Jounin that had gathered around them. "We need Tsunade, now." When they didn't move, her expression turned venomous. "_Did you not hear me? Get Tsunade now!" _

The Jounin went scattering in several directions, and with Naruto's help, she and the Hokage carried their former sensei towards the medical wing. Along the way, Naruto gathered enough information from Kakashi to shout out orders to the ninja rushing around like madmen. News of the attack by the Sound Village had traveled fast, but was smartly and carefully kept from the civilians in the gymnasiums.

Fear shot through Kaede as her heart tore in two. She wanted desperately to save Kakashi, almost more than she wanted to fight for her village. But something kept her with her sensei, and she had never felt more relieved to hand him over to Tsunade. The gray-haired Jounin may be dying, but if anyone could save him, it would be the Slug Princess, the legendary Sannin.

As soon as they were sure Kakashi was comfortable for the worst, Naruto and Kaede sprinted back down the halls, both thinking of preparations for an evacuation. Somehow, the Sound had found their hideout, and somehow, Kakashi had been there to help fight, even after he had been assumed dead. He had known the entrance to the hideout, and made his way inside to alert them of the attack.

Even if they managed to push back the Sound army, Orochimaru would still known where their underground haven was, and would attack again and again until everyone inside was dead, had surrendered, or had been captured. Even if he had to come here himself.

An explosion could be heard above, and the ground shook, sending pieces of earth raining down onto their heads. Kaede and Naruto glanced at each other, urgency forming a unanimous decision between them—they were going to fight, and keep those damn Sound nin from harming what was left of Konoha.

Kaede, knowing that Orochimaru had no idea of her existence, took off her headband and wrapped it around her arm. She knew that, with her hair dulled and her forehead bare, she would be almost unrecognizable to anyone who hadn't been around to see these changes.

Nodding in approval, Naruto darted ahead of Kaede and through the door that Kakashi had slammed open. They ran straight into a mass of fighting ninja.

All around, blood was being shed, bones were being cracked, and fighters were falling. The speed and confusion of the battle spiraled around Kaede, and she was barely able to keep her sight on Naruto. The unknown Hokage was weaving in and out of the crowd, glancing back over his shoulder every few moments to check that Kaede was still following him. She was.

She ran as fast as she could, her trained speed kicking in at just the right moments, allowing her to be almost invisible to those attempting to attack her. Having forgotten her kunai and shuriken in the kitchen, she had no choice but to use whatever she had left, and that meant her fists.

Her knuckles connected with jaws, her palms blocked punches, kicks, and slashes. She ignored the jolting pain from the fresh cuts marking her hands, focused solely on stopping anyone in her path. Building up chakra, she performed the shadow clone jutsu that Naruto had taught her in one of their training sessions. She allowed her clones to go on their own killing spree, attacking anyone and everyone of the enemy. On her own rampage, Kaede sent carefully calculated hits at those daring enough to get near her. It was another advantage of changing her look in such a small and yet big way, she mused. The Sound had no clue who they were up against.

"Kaede!" she heard someone yell, and turned her head for the most fleeting moment to see who had shouted for her. It was Miki, who was pointing with one hand and shoving Sound nin away with her other. Kaede looked in the direction her friend was motioning to and felt her chest tighten. Why did everything have to happen at once?!

Standing completely still, but stiffly, watching an extremely furious Naruto make a beeline for him, was Sasuke, his hand resting on the handle of his sheathed sword. His eyes were locked on Naruto's, the tension between them almost visible. Kaede saw the trouble brewing, and knew that there would be no way to stop it.

But damn, why did he have to be here? Why couldn't Orochimaru have sent Kabuto or Kimimaro or something to fight? Why did it have to be Sasuke?

She tried to ignore the fight, but was unable to when Naruto's resounding, "Sasuke!" reached her ears and she heard the sickening thud of the Hokage tackling the betrayer. Slamming her knee into the Sound nin in front of her, Kaede focused her attention on her friends.

Sasuke immediately drew his sword, using the handle to hit Naruto in the stomach. Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke, appearing behind the Uchiha and slashing the back of his neck. Sasuke lurched forward at the last second, causing Naruto to miss and fly over the other's head. The Hokage landed on his feet, and rushed again, his demon chakra activating and swirling around him in a mass of crimson. Kaede had never seen her teammate control this chakra with such skill, much less bring it to the surface with only a small thought. She was impressed with the way he had matured and developed in his fighting. He was no longer immature—no, he hadn't been immature in a long, long time. It had just taken her this long to realize it.

Sasuke's curse seal spread across his body, the marks burning red as he met Naruto with the slash of his sword, clashing with the other's kunai. Naruto pushed back, taking one step, then another, proving his determination to defeat his once-best friend.

All movement stopped suddenly between them, their power finally matched. Kaede watched this all, oblivious to the fighting going on around her, her eyes locked on the two young men locked in a battle of will versus skill. She could see the fury plain and boiling on Naruto's face, and the spark of anger in Sasuke's black eyes—wait, black eyes?!

Shocked, Kaede realized that Sasuke had yet to activate his Sharingan—he was making this an even battle. Her heart went out to them both, unsure of which one she wanted to win. No, she knew. She loved Sasuke with her entire being, and wanted nothing more than for him to live, but when it came down to it, her village was higher on the list than he was. She wanted Naruto to win, even if it meant destroying one of the two things she ever loved more than anything.

Something hit her in the back, and she fell to the ground. She hit with an "oomph", landing face first on the hard dirt. Quickly she rolled over and stopped the Sound nin's fist from landing on her cheek, struggling to hold him at bay. Her view of the battle might be out of range now, but that wasn't any reason to just knock this ninja out and let him live.

Fury enveloped her, and she focused her chakra into the hand that wasn't holding back the ninja. She formed a tight fist, sticking one knuckle out further than the others just as Kakashi had taught her to do if she found herself in a situation such as this. With a loud, angry cry that merely mingled with the others in the room, Kaede hit the ninja in the nose, pushing upwards as she did, shattering it. Kakashi had told her that, if she ever had to use this, the shattered pieces of bone would, with the right amount of force, be pushed back into the brain, therefore killing the person.

Apparently it worked, for the man's hand went limp, and he collapsed. Kaede rolled him off of her and stood up, leaping at the first ninja she saw. She pounded each ninja she could, hitting them in the air, slamming them back down with a kick that was taught to her by Tsunade, punching their faces in, hitting them in any and every way possible.

It wasn't long before she saw an exit route to the outside, where she figured Naruto and Sasuke would have gone. But they were at the back of her thoughts right now; for the moment, she cared only about destroying all of the Sound nin that had infiltrated their hideout. She forced her way through, joined by two other Konoha ninja she did not feel like identifying.

The bright light blinded her, and she threw an arm up in front of her face until she got used to it. When she lowered her arm, she saw a sight that was both heart-warming and shocking.

Fighting the Sound ninja with a gusto Kaede had never seen them use before were comrades she had once though fallen.

"Leaf Spinning Wind!" A crash followed the cry, and when the dust cleared, Maito Gai stood with that goofy grin still on his face. Kaede felt her heart swell even more at the sight of him standing proudly, nodding in her direction. A few feet away, a large, green ball with kunai attached to it rolled by, and Kaede smiled. It was Choji. Ten Ten was a little ways away, too, spinning in the middle of a twirled scroll, weaponry flying out and landing grotesquely in the bodies of the ninja surrounding her.

And there, on a rather large toad, was Jiraiya, a ninja thought to have disappeared, but definitely not killed, after the attack on Konoha. He blew fire, and the toad blew oil, creating an explosion that burned several Sound ninja.

The two ninja beside Kaede touched her shoulders, and she darted a look at each of them, finally noticing who they were. There, on her left, was Neji, and on her right, someone she really, really had hoped to see. Miki grinned, none the worse for wear save for a few scratches, bruises, and one burn mark on her arm. Neji gave a hint of a smile before he and Miki led Kaede in a dash through the crowd towards Jiraiya.

"Hey," Jiraiya greeted them in his odd manner, waving before his eyes feasted on Kaede and Miki. "Well, well, you two have turned into quite the beautiful pair, haven't you?"

"Back off," Neji snapped, and Miki giggled. Kaede elbowed her friend playfully, even though the last thing they should be doing was fooling around. But she was just so happy to see some of those that had been assumed dead or disappeared.

Jiraiya looked momentarily surprised, before his entire demeanor changed to one of seriousness. "Get in there, kids," he barked. "No time for small talk."

Startled but willing, the three Jounin heeded his command and leapt into the midst of battle.

Kaede snuck up behind a Sound nin and stole his pouch of weaponry. She picked out a kunai, and, glad to have a weapon in her hand, stabbed the ninja viciously in the back. It was something that had to be done, and she knew that, and was willing to do it. From ninja to ninja, Kaede killed as many of the Sound she could. Sure, there was no way that in one day she could hurt the Sound village as much as they had hurt the Leaf, but she would do a hell of a lot of damage.

This task proved harder than originally imagined; the Sound nin kept appearing, and if she had to guess, she'd say there were hundreds to their limited amount of fighters. Jiraiya could count for a few men, and so could several of the Jounin, but it wasn't enough. She knew that soon, those who were injured to a certain extent would leave to help in the inevitable evacuation, and the rest would be left to hold back the Sound.

Knowing just who would say and who would go, Kaede leapt into the air, searching desperately for her friends. She saw most of them out here, fighting for their lives and for their village. Her heart wrenched at the dedication they were putting into this battle, but she had to get them out of there.

Making a chakra sign, she calmed herself and focused her chakra just enough for her next attack. She brought her fist to her mouth and blew out a Grand Fireball jutsu, pushing back the Sound nin surrounding her.

The Konoha ninja looked her way, and she waved her arm, signaling them to retreat to the door. She, too, dashed to the doorway and paused, looking at her comrades. They were injured, panting, tired, but still ready to fight.

"You know what to do," Kaede told them, and they nodded. Several of them parted into the hideout, while the rest stayed behind. She turned to those left and gave them as encouraging a smile as she could manage. "Listen up. Our only mission is to hold these guys off. Kill as many as we can. We most likely will not return after this. You're all brave ninja, and I know how much Konoha means to you." Feeling her own courage rise, she pumped her fist into the air. "Let's go kick some Sound ass!"

Roars and shouts of agreement, plus many other enthusiastic fists in the air followed her encouragement. Kunai, shuriken, and dozens of other weapons were drawn out as the ninja ran in a two-row arc at the Sound ninja. Kaede, at the head of this arc, knew that the chance of her coming out of this alive was slim to none.

But she fought anyway.



In the darkness of late night, or early morning—she didn't know which—Kaede and the remaining survivors trekked on weary legs across the dewy grass. There were only a few of them; herself, Neji, Miki, Gai, two other ANBU, and Jiraiya plodded along, tired, injured, but proud.

For five hours, they and fifteen others had held off the Sound ninja, proudly displaying the spirit of Konoha that inhabited each and every one of them. Kaede was the proudest of them all, but not of herself. Of everyone else. They had all fought valiantly, taking down as many of the enemy as they could. Five of them had perished in the battle; three from injuries after the fight.

After the long hours, the Sound nin had retreated at the command of some unheard voice. They had moved simultaneously, halting their attacks and merely walking away. Deciding that they weren't worth it, Kaede had ordered her ninja to leave the Sound alone and tend to the wounded.

The dead had been buried, the hideout door destroyed and caved in, and the injured bandages and healed as best as possible. Kaede had hated bandaging up her friends, burying their bodies, having to close the eyes of her dead comrades. But she had done it with as much resolve as she did everything else.

During the fight, no one had had any time to think about what had happened to the rest of their friends and family, where they were, if the evacuation plan had gone along as planned. And what had happened to their Hokage. Neither Naruto nor Sasuke were anywhere to be seen. All anyone could hope was that Naruto had defeated the Uchiha and gone to assist in the evacuation. No one wanted to see their strong, determined Hokage be beaten down.

But now that they were no longer busy, and too tired to speak, there didn't seem to be anything else to think about. Kaede especially couldn't get the image of her two friends fighting out of her mind. Once again, the dilemma came to the surface, and once again she found herself answering that she would want Naruto to win over Sasuke. She loved the Uchiha to death, but if it came down to it, her village came first, and he had betrayed the Leaf.

Besides, Naruto was like an older brother to her. He had always been there for her, had been a great friend when they were young, and an even greater friend as they got older. Sasuke, on the other hand, had been confusing and cold as a child, and only showed his true self to her when they were well on their way to adulthood. Naruto definitely scored more points that Sasuke.

But this wasn't about points, she scolded herself, scowling. This was about what was right. Yet when you put it either way, Naruto always came out on top.

Bothered, but consoled by the fact that she hadn't actually seen either of them die, Kaede halted what was left of her ninja and pointed.

In a clearing about a half-mile away, there was a strange looking tree that seemed totally out of place. Kaede knew the entrances and exits of every single sector of the underground "city", as some people called it, and this was one of them. The tree was merely a barrier for the actual entrance, a large wooden door that opened onto a staircase leading into black nothingness. At least, the semi-permanent jutsu seemed that way.

Smiling, Kaede urged the ninja forward to the clearing, and, encouraged by the sight of an entrance, they reached it in not even three minutes.

Kaede made a chakra sign and concentrated her energy on the tree. The ground shook, and the tree slowly moved backwards. Its roots detangled themselves from the wooden door and retreated into the ground. Kaede reached down and pulled the handle on the door, murmuring a jutsu under her breath as she went. When the door was completely open, all they saw was darkness. As gasps and mutters went through the small group, only Jiraiya and Kaede staying silent, the darkness slowly receded until a dimly lit case of stairs was visible.

The seven ninja started down the stairs, carefully closing the door and latching the tree back into place behind them. Kaede led the way, quickly maneuvering down the staircase and through a skinny hallway. There were no doors on the sides, just a long passage ahead. The other ninja were becoming hopeful, but Kaede's hopes were falling. If she had judged right, at their current distance from the door, they should've been able to hear voices and the calamity of dozens of people crammed into one room.

She heard nothing.

Fear tightened around her heart, and she gasped for breath. What if they had all died? What if Orochimaru was waiting for the last of them to come, poised to kill? What if…

She never finished that "what if" because a loud shout of, "Kaede!" bounced off the walls and down to the seven ninja. Kaede grinned at the sound of Sakura's voice, and met the girl in a hug. It was a quick hug, though, because Sakura began dashing to everyone, loosing squeals of happiness at those she hadn't seen in a long time as she hugged them.

Still grinning, Kaede took a few more steps before turning and calling, "You all coming or not?"  
As if a light bulb had just clicked in their heads, the other ninja ran past Kaede, all hurrying to get into the room and see their friends, if those friends had lived or not. Kaede waited for Sakura to catch up, then snatched the kunoichi's arm and halted her in her steps.

"Sakura," Kaede said in a low voice, "who made it back?" Sakura's face visibly fell at the question, and she seemed to be fighting back tears. Kaede dropped her hand from the other girl's arm and stared, wide-eyed, afraid of what she was about to say.

"Naruto," Kaede began, then stopped as Sakura wiped tears away from her face and sniffed. Immediately, she knew what had happened. Naruto hadn't come back. She pulled Sakura into an embrace, rubbing the other girl's back soothingly and leading her down the hallway again.

She knew what this meant—Konoha was left without a leader, and there were only a few people eligible to fill the position. Kaede was one of them. Without Naruto, their great Hokage, the village was nothing.

Dread seeping into her veins, Kaede realized that the only hope Konoha had left was….her.

* * *

**sniff Poor Naruto, disappeared. But have no fear. He'll be back...or will he? Oo Haha, you'll just have to wait. And I'm sorry if it was a little shorter than my other chapters, but this was the best place to end it. Keep on reading and reviewing--I enjoy opening my email and finding a bunch of reviews in my inbox!**

**Nicola**


	9. Chapter 8

**Yay! it's another chapter! You know, there basically one band I listen to when I write, and that would be Sum 41. They're so awesome. If you ever feel like it, go onto and look up "Naruto Hell." It'll probably be the first one you'll see, and it's always called the "Best Naruto AMV i've ever seen" so it shouldn't be too hard to find. It's an awesome freakin video!**

**Love ya**

**Nicola**

* * *

Chapter Eight: Betraying the Betrayer

Nothing made sense. At least, not in Kaede's mind.

While she'd comforted a weeping Sakura, she had managed to get the story from the other girl. It had taken a while, but in between gasping breaths and racking sobs, Kaede had been able to decipher Sakura's words, and had been horrified and confused by the story.

After Kaede and the ninja that were left started to hold off the Sound, while the rest of the Konoha fighters evacuated the people to another sector of the underground, Naruto had apparently kept on fighting with Sasuke, eventually disappearing as the doors were closed and latched. Now, the thing that bothered Kaede was that she, nor anyone else, had seen Naruto or Sasuke moving around on the battlefield. If her memory served right, she'd lost sight of them when someone had knocked her to the ground. By then, the battle had been full fledged, and there was no picking anyone out of the crowd.

So there Kaede still sat, in a far corner of the humongous, packed room, all by herself, racking her brains for any reason why they two ninjas would have just disappeared, or even fathom leaving the battle to fight in private. Maybe they hadn't wanted distractions or something, maybe it was just a preference they had, or anything along those lines. Anything but what kept forcing its way to the front of her mind.

One of them had died.

Kaede knew that if Naruto had died, Sasuke would have been kind and respectful towards his friend, and probably left him for Konoha to mourn over. Then, the Uchiha would have peacefully gone on his way. Naruto would most likely have done the same thing, taking Sasuke back to what used to be the Leaf village, laying him by the gates, and placing his sword across his chest. Maybe that was what was keeping him. Kaede's heart twisted at the thought of Sasuke being dead, but it would be best for her village if Naruto had killed him.

She chewed on her bottom lip, curling her knees to her chest and resting her chin against them. There were so many things that had been going on, she couldn't keep watching the two elite ninja fight. It nagged at her that she might have been able to do something about it if she had been paying attention. The back of her eyes stung with tears, and she blinked, forcing them back.

"It's alright to be upset," a soft, wise voice said, and Kaede whipped her head around to see her old sensei leaning on crutches, his torso bandaged heavily. She went to stand immediately, but Kakashi motioned for her to stay down. He pressed his back against the wall and slowly slid down; if he was hurting, he kept it hidden.

The gray eye that Kaede had always thought of as lazy ran over her face; his Sharingan eye was not visible, as his band was pulled down. But, as she further investigated his features, she saw something that made her gasp and clench her fists.

Hatake Kakashi, the great, legendary copy-nin son of the White Fang, was wandering around without his mask.

His pale face seemed naked without it, but Kaede had to admit he was a handsome man. There didn't seem to be any words to describe his solemn, battle-worn face, but if she had to, she'd say it had certain elegance to it.

"Kakashi-sensei…" Kaede gaped at him, a small part of her mind scolding her for calling him sensei again. She was a Jounin, and did not have a sensei. "Why aren't you wearing your mask? I've never seen you without it!"

Kakashi laughed. "Yes, I have that impression with about everyone. You know, that ramen girl has had a crush on me ever since Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke tried to trick me into taking it off." Then his expression darkened. "Kaede, there is no reason for you to try and hide your feelings. You may be a substitute Hokage until Naruto's possible return, but Hokage's can feel things, too. The Third was very passionate about his village, and was never afraid to show it."

"I know, Kakashi, but it's just—"

"Just what?" the gray-haired ninja asked, setting his crutches to a more sturdy position against the wall. "Just that you blame yourself? That if you had watched them fight, or not allowed Sasuke to leave, or paid more attention to your work? Or not visited Sasuke when you weren't supposed to?"  
Kaede gasped. "How do you know about all that? I had thought no one saw me leave and see him."

His gray eye narrowed, Kakashi said, "No one inside this place saw you, but there was nothing stopping someone outside watching you." Kakashi's voice turned stern. "You know just as well as I do that Sasuke is a very, very dangerous person who should not be taken lightly. And the two of us, along with Naruto, know Sasuke better than anyone else does. He betrayed us, and assisted in the attack on Konoha. You might still hold on to your feelings for him, but trust me, Sasuke feels for no one. I know that, and you know that. I hate to say this, and yet you need to hear it." Kakashi sighed. "In the most likely scenario, Sasuke is only using you to get closer to us."

The horror and truth of his words struck Kaede like a blow to the face. She fell back against the wall, averting her eyes from her old sensei as she stared at the ceiling. Could what he said be true? Could Sasuke have been using her all this time? No, he loved her too much. Didn't he? Oh, Kami, it was so confusing!

Sasuke had spent all of those days, months, years, with her, spending time with her, buying presents for her, doing little things for her, taking her out to dinner, watching her sleep at night. Was that all a hoax? Was that all a disguise to his true feelings, and his true intentions? Her head spun wildly at the images and memories of her time with him flashing through her mind. Those kisses, those long, nighttime walks holding hands, missions…they weren't real. They were all fake, feigned to make her believe that the two of them had connections.

She hardly noticed Kakashi standing up and hobbling away as gracefully as one could on crutches. She was too far delved into the horror of realization to pay much attention to anything beyond her thoughts. Her hand went up to her lips and touched them as she remembered the feel of Sasuke's kiss. She couldn't see—all she could picture was the night by the lake they'd spent together. He had asked her to come out and see him again the next night at midnight. But that time passed a long time ago.

Taking a deep breath, Kaede stood and licked her lips. There were things that needed to be done, and Sasuke had gotten in the way of too much in the past. She threaded her way through the crowding people, eyes scanning the room for Tsunade, Sakura, or Miki, whichever one she found first.

She spotted Miki on the opposite side of the large, dank room, and started to head in that direction. But then she saw Neji next to Miki, and that the two were having what looked to be an intimate conversation. She rolled her eyes and looked once again for someone else.

Sakura was a rather levelheaded person in disasters or dire moments. Kaede figured that if anyone could give her a flat-out answer to all those questions running through her head, it would be Sakura.

The sober, pink-haired kunoichi was in the hallway when Kaede found her. The once-Hokage sat next to the other woman and waited for her to say something. It was a few long minutes before Sakura whispered a few words.

"I wish I knew where he was," she said softly, looking down at her hands. "It hurts so bad."

Nodding, Kaede didn't say anything. She personally knew that it was worse when the person you were trying to confide in didn't listen, but talked about their own self. As she looked at the worrisome woman next to her, she began to regret coming to talk of her own worries.

Sakura looked at Kaede with wide, moist green eyes. "I don't know how he could've just disappeared like that. Where would he have gone?" She clenched her fists. "It was that damn Sasuke, I know it."

That struck a chord, but Kaede held her tongue and instead said, "We don't know what happened, Sakura. Anything could've gone wrong. You know that."  
"You're just protecting Sasuke," Sakura accused, glaring. "That man is all you care about anymore. You just don't understand! He betrayed us! He left Konoha for Orochimaru, he left all of us, left you, for power to kill his brother!" She sobered. "You never knew how lucky you were, though." Her face was no longer angry, but sad, and longing. "For years I hoped that Sasuke would take an interest in me. And then you came along, and he liked you. That was the worst feeling in the world, seeing you and him walking together and talking and spending time together, like I had dreamed for so many nights, except you were in my place." Sakura ran a hand through her bedraggled hair and shook her head.

"But then you found Naruto," Kaede whispered, realizing as soon as she had spoken them that those words were the wrong things to say.

Sakura's face became one of pity. "No, I didn't find Naruto. He more likely found me, and I was in denial of him for a long, long time. But even now, I envy you, and wish things had turned out differently." The kunoichi stood, and Kaede could do nothing but watch. "If you came here to talk about Sasuke, you came to the wrong person." She gave a haughty laugh. "Hell, you came to the wrong village."



Sakura was angry with her.

Kakashi had brought a new light to her eyes, one she didn't want.

Naruto was gone.

And now she didn't even feel welcome in her own village. Well, what was left of it, anyway.

Heart aching, but demeanor stony-cold, Kaede listened to Shikamaru speak of battle plans, casualties, injuries, and possible tactics that might be taken by the Sound village at any time. Shikamaru's voice was not as bored as it normally would have been, and was strained. He had been in the battle, and seen one of his teammates fight. But, once again, Choji hadn't come back. Kaede felt for him, and yet refused to show it. Right now, everyone needed to concentrate on the problems at hand, and forget their mourning until later.

"Now that they know where our tunnels began, they can pretty much guess where they will lead, and with Orochimaru leading them, probably find the entrances," Shikamaru was saying to Kaede, his voice sounding reasonable, but with a hint of urgency behind it.

"So what you're saying is that we're free and open for another attack?" Kaede ran a hand through her brown hair and yanked her fingers through a knot. "Kami, this is not good. Naruto disappears, and we're still available to be killed on a much too personal level by Orochimaru."  
Shrugging, Shikamaru said, "It's bad, I know. In fact, it's to the point where I'm about to suggest surrendering and maybe living out the rest of our existence under that snake man's rule." Then he clenched his hands into fists. "But that will never, ever happen as long as I'm here. I know you feel the same way."

Kaede nodded firmly. "Yes, I do. We would not surrender even if he had his sword at our throats."  
"In theory, he does," Shikamaru mused, rubbing his chin. Then, his expression brightly considerably. "He thinks he's got us in a corner, where we have no escape. But if I'm thinking right, he has no clue about something else."

Taking a moment to think over what Shikamaru had said, Kaede snapped her fingers, smiling. "I know what you're getting at." They exchanged grins.

In the underground tunnels that they were currently residing in, there led one pathway that was hardly ever used. The path led directly underneath of the Hokage temple. Now, the entrance was extremely well hidden, created by the Third, and everything about him was basically a mystery to those who hadn't known him. The only per son who knew how to get in was Tsunade and Jiraiya, the Third's students. Oh, crap.

Kaede fervently shook her head. "That's not a good idea. The Third told all of his students how to open it and where it led. That means Orochimaru knows, too."

A sly smile worked its way across Shikamaru's face as he motioned Kaede closer so he could whisper in her ear. She leaned down hesitantly, half expecting him to turn into Orochimaru and kill her right then and there.

"Sarutobi told all of his students a different way to get in through the Hokage temple. He told Tsunade about the one we're talking about, Jiraiya about one that is right outside the gates, and Orochimaru about the one he just attacked. Which means that we have two ways to get in, and two ways to attack."

Kaede punched Shikamaru on the arm in a congratulatory way. "I am so glad you're a lazy genius. Otherwise, we would have been lost."

"Yeah, I know," he said, his modesty having disappeared as he aged. Then his expression turned serious as he dug his radio out of his pocket. He hit the button, static came over the line momentarily, and he spoke into it. "Hey, Tsunade, it's Nara. We need ya in the hallway by the door. Get out here. Now."

Silently mouthing an, "Ooh, you're in trouble," Kaede glanced up at the door. She thought she'd just heard something out there. Maybe it was a squirrel. Yeah, one of those little pesky things. At least, she hoped it was.

Then, the sound came again, like someone repeatedly and purposefully hitting the door, and Kaede shot a glance at Shikamaru. He'd heard it, too. Placing a finger to his lips, he placed his hand on top of the door, close to the crease where it opened. Slowly, carefully, he made a chakra sign with his other hand and she heard the tree above the door creak slightly, merely sounding as if it had shifted in the wind.

Slowly, painstakingly, Shikamaru pushed the door open a crack and Kaede saw his shadow jutsu dart out of the small opening he'd made. She closed her eyes and prayed that whoever was there would be snagged by the stealthy shadows. When she opened her eyes, she saw Shikamaru's mouth tilt up to the left in a smirk. He mouthed, "Got him" and pushed the door open completely.

Kaede stared up in the light, seeing only a darkened figure frozen in their tracks; Shikamaru clambered out, as did Kaede, and they stared in astonishment at the person before them.

Anger boiled in Kaede's very being at the audacity of Sasuke to show up and actually _knock_ on their secret entrance. _Knock_! Who did that?

A satisfied grin spread halfway across Sasuke's face at the sight of her, and he made an attempt to lift his chin in greeting. Shikamaru's shadows brought him right back down with a jerk, and he fell to his knees. Kaede glanced at Shikamaru, seeing if he, too, had fallen to the ground, but the Nara man was up and standing with his arms crossed. Apparently, he'd learned a new and more developed jutsu.

She turned her gaze back to Sasuke, who was trying to look up at her, but was repeatedly forced to rub his face in the dirt. He had some nerve to show up here, but she was almost glad. Kakashi's words ran through her mind, reminding her that he was using her, she was a pawn in his little game. She didn't want to believe it, not right now, when Sasuke was right in front of her, seemingly begging for her to release him from the Nara's jutsu. She was once again pulled in two places.

"Kill him now," Shikamaru said, shooting a glare in her direction. She flinched, but knew what she had to do and pulled out a kunai.

With purposeful steps she stalked towards Sasuke, who was this time allowed to look up at her. When he did, she stopped with the kunai above his head. His black eyes dared her to do it, to kill him. She saw Shikamaru's shadow quiver out of the corner of her eye, and knew that if she was going to kill Sasuke, it had to be right now. Her hand shook as she reared it up to stab her beloved, and she wanted desperately to tell him that she was sorry.

Her knife was inches away from Sasuke's neck when it stopped in mid air, and she pulled away. Sasuke looked at her in amazement, having thought that she was going to kill him. Shikamaru glared daggers at her, wanting to know exactly what she thought she was doing.

"Let him go, Shikamaru," she said, placing her kunai back in her pocket. Startled, Shikamaru hesitated, but did as he was told, and Sasuke stood up. She lifted her chin, walked up to him, and kissed him. Immediately he fell into the kiss, but she pulled back as soon as he did.

"What…Kaede?" he asked, confused. She brought her hand up to his neck, and the sharp edge of another kunai pressed into his skin.

"Don't think you'll be so lucky next time," she growled under her breath, so that only he could hear. His hand reached up and grabbed her wrist.

"Don't think I ever thought I would." She pressed the knife further into his skin, so that a little trickle of blood dripped down onto the blade.

And then, she stepped away, wrenching her hand from Sasuke's iron grip. "Get out of here. Traitor."

His face not showing any emotion, Sasuke turned and disappeared. Kaede said nothing of it, though. She was aching on the inside, having uttered the one word that could sadden her Sasuke. No, just Sasuke. She knew that when he was expressionless like that, it meant he was hurt, he was upset, and when he was upset, he became vengeful. Next time she saw him, she knew that he would have no mercy.

Someone shoved her hard between the shoulder blades, sending her pivoting forward. When she caught her balance and turned to glare at whomever it was who pushed her, she met Shikamaru's angry scowl.

"What the hell was that?!" he yelled, throwing his arms up as if in defeat for an explanation of what she'd just done. "You could have killed him! What has gotten into your head, woman? Three years ago you'd have jumped at the chance to slit his neck, and now you just let him go?!"

Astonished, Kaede took a step back to avoid his madly gesturing hands and waved her own in front of her. "Kami, Shikamaru! Check your temper!" But that would have no effect on him, she knew, so she edged around him until she was by the door.

Quickly she jumped the stairs and landed easily in the hallway; Shikamaru was right behind her, and grabbed her by the back of her shirt.

"You aren't getting away that easily!" He spun her around and pulled her close to his face. "Either you are going to tell me what the hell you think you were doing, or I'll beat the shit out of you until you do."

He was threatening her now. Oh no, he did not just threaten her.

"Go ahead! Try and beat the shit out of me, Shikamaru, and see how far you get before you're the one bruised and beaten," she growled, reaching up with one hand and hitting him across the face as best she could in their current position.

"Put her down, Shikamaru, right now," came Tsunade's voice, and at the commanding loudness of it, the Nara man obeyed, but reluctantly. His eyes never moved from staring daggers into Kaede's back.

Relieved but not relaxed, Kaede bowed her head to Tsunade and briskly walked past her. She was almost out of reach when Tsunade's hand whipped out and yanked her back. With a grunt, she hit the wall and the Sannin released her iron grip. Kaede straightened her shirt, shamelessly meeting both of the accusing ninjas glares. Tsunade had no idea what had just happened, but Kaede would bet she had probably guessed. And Shikamaru was just plain old mad at her.

"Please explain to me what happened," Tsunade snapped, crossing her arms over her chest and staring hard in Kaede's direction.

Kaede took a deep breath and began; "Shikamaru and I were discussing plans for possible attacks against the Sound village, when we heard a knocking at the entranceway."

Shikamaru sniffed. "Yeah, and guess who it was." He silenced immediately, though, and Tsunade's reproachful glare.

"Continue," the Sannin said.

"Well," Kaede went on, shooting a scowl at Shikamaru, "we both decided to check out who was knocking. Shikamaru used his shadow jutsu to hold the person in place while we opened the door. It was Sasuke." Tsunade's sharp intake of breath momentarily distracted Kaede, but she placed herself back on track. "I told Shikamaru to release him after deciding that killing him would be a bad move. I warned him not to let himself get so off guard again, and told him to leave."  
"Yeah," Shikamaru snorted. "After kissing him."  
Horrified, Tsunade looked at Kaede, who shrugged. "It was the best way to catch him by surprise."  
"Your judgment is way off, young lady," Tsunade scolded. "I cannot believe you would allow such a valuable playing card to just walk off! We could have used him in return for our village, or for Naruto—you know that Orochimaru needs Sasuke for a body, and to get hold of the Sharingan. If we killed Sasuke, the only person left with the Sharingan would be Itachi, and there is no possible way Orochimaru would stand against Itachi. That should be clear to you!"

"Yes, but if we killed him, we would have no way to get any information about Naruto, or the Sound," Kaede argued. It was a solid, reasonable point, even if Tsunade seemed to dislike it by the look of her face.

"Now why would Uchiha Sasuke, betrayer of the Leaf, want to give our village the information necessary to defeat his mentor?" Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes. "If you think that just because he seems infatuated by you that he'll give us all the info, then you're so far wrong, Kaede."

For a few moments, Kaede and Shikamaru glared at each other. Kaede knew that Sasuke was probably using her, just as Kakashi had said, but there was the chance that he actually did love her. And if he did…then, hell, it would certainly help her village to have him on their side as a sort of spy, a gatherer of important information, along those lines. She shivered, thinking of how wonderful it would be to have Sasuke with them, even though it would most likely result in his imminent death.

"If you two would stop glaring at each other," Tsunade interrupted, catching both Kaede and Shikamaru's attention. "I have an idea."



Why she was doing this, she didn't know. She felt horrible, terrible about betraying him, but Kami, it was for her village, after all. And her village was the most important thing, she had to remind herself. There was no escaping it. No matter how much she loved him, no matter how many good times they'd spent together, this had to be done. His life and hers would most likely be sacrificed in the process, but it was absolutely necessary.

Kaede Shinota was going to betray the only person she'd ever loved: Uchiha Sasuke.

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**Wow. I'm getting SOOOO far on this story it's great! Oh, and after the next chapter, I plan on bringing you to Sasuke's POV when he sees Kaede again. Read and review, cause I love getting them. It keeps me going on this story, so if u wanna keep reading and see what happens, review!  
Love ya**

**Nicola**


	10. Chapter 9

**Another chapter. I love where this story is going, and there is a major plot twist in this chappie. Thank you all for the reviews--it keeps me up and running with the story, and helps encourage me to keep writing. I'm thinking that whenever I finish with this one (which will be a long while), I might make a third sequel, but where I'd go with it, I have no ideas. **

**Oh, and I'm definitely open for ideas about a sequel or future chapters of this story. :D Love you!**

**Nicola**

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Chapter Nine: Struggles

Kaede took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and ran a hand through her hair. She was pouring over hand-drawn maps of the tunnels underground with Shikamaru, trying to figure out the entrance to the passage that went into the Hokage temple in Konoha. This was a must—to continue their plot against the Sound, the ninja of the Leaf needed to know their ways in, and their ways out in case of an emergency during the attack.

It was two days after Kaede's initial decision to use Sasuke for information, just as he'd probably used her. Sure, it tore her apart to even think about it, but she had to do everything to help her village, and this was on the top of her list.

"Alright," Shikamaru stated finally, tapping the map with his index finger. "I think we've got them all. Combined with what Tsunade, you, and I know, and, of course, Jiraiya, we have been able to draw a pretty detailed map of the underground passages." He shot a look in her direction. "All we need now is for you to…you know."

Sadly, Kaede nodded. "I know."  
In a few minutes, she was supposed to sneak out of their underground haven, and leave one of her most prized possessions behind: her headband. If she left her headband behind, she would be seen as a rough ninja, a missing nin, someone with no connected to her village. And that would be key.

She gave a brief nod to Shikamaru, and walked out of the little meeting room they'd discovered on their search through the doors in the hallway. She made her way to the big room where all of the people were staying. They looked miserable, she mused as she walked through the clusters of Konoha denizens. Her heart went out to all of them, the children, the elders, the mothers, fathers, everyone. They'd gone through so much in the past years, losing loved ones, their families broken apart by a war that could've been avoided. No, she wouldn't wallow in self-guilt right now. She had a job to do.

When she reached her little corner, she reached up with shaking hands and touched the knot keeping her headband across her forehead. She held her breath, almost afraid to take the band off. It symbolized everything that she lived for—her country, her people, her pride. But she had to remember this was for that village, for those people, and only that stone-like pride could get her there.

Resolved, she tugged the knot loose and allowed the band the slip off of her head. It hit the floor with a dull clank, and lay there, limp and lifeless, the Konoha symbol face down on the ground. She stared down at it, fighting the urge to pick it back up and place it in its rightful place. Heart in her throat, she stood, leaving the headband where it lay on the ground, and walked away.

Every step tugged harder and harder in the direction of her band, the one thing she had never been able to get on without. Sure, it was just a piece of metal and a strip of cloth, but she'd earned it. She'd earned the right to wear it proudly across her forehead, to let everyone know just what a good ninja she was.

And now she was leaving it behind.

"It's for your village," she mumbled under her breath, trying to remind herself why she was doing this. "It doesn't matter if you go around without your headband. You have to do this."  
A hand landed on her shoulder, and she stopped, just a few steps from the door. She turned around and saw Sakura, her eyes no longer puffy and red as they'd been yesterday. The kunoichi's face was resolved, determined, and encouraging. A smile tugged at the corners of Kaede's mouth, and she grabbed Sakura's hand in a firm handshake.

"Good luck, Hokage-sama," Sakura said, and Kaede nodded.

"Thank you."  
With that small but forgiving gesture soothing her heart, Kaede continued on until she was out in the dark hallway, her footsteps echoing off of the walls in an eerie way. At the end, she knew, was the exit into the outside, where she would wander around aimlessly until someone found her. Hopefully, Sasuke would be the one to do so.

She reached around and patted her weaponry pouch, trying to comfort herself with the familiarity of it. She dug around inside and pulled out a kunai, running her thumb over the sharpened blade and working up her courage. She was the Hokage while Naruto was gone, and it was her job to keep this village safe, no matter what the costs. Her mind wandered to a tale she'd heard a long time ago, about a brave leader who had sacrificed his life for his village.

Smiling, she retold the tale to herself. It was very well known; in fact, everyone in the village, in all of the villages, knew it. The tale of the Fourth Hokage was more of a legend. He had given his life to seal the Nine-Tail Fox inside of a young baby boy, namely Naruto. And look where the Kyuubi vessel had gotten just because of the Fourth. He was the Hokage—well, before he'd gone missing—and probably at the height of the list of the strongest ninjas Konoha had produced.

Kaede stopped and stared up the staircase in front of her. She made a chakra sign, and heard the tree creak and shift. Taking a deep breath, she walked up the stairs and to the door outside. She pushed it open, the light barely changing, as it was nighttime, and crawled through the door. After brushing herself off, she glanced back down into the darkness, and sealed the passageway shut.

"Here we go," she told herself, and began walking.

She had previously decided to keep to the ground instead of the trees to be less conspicuous, and less threatening. A ninja leaping high speed through branches was to be seen as a possible enemy, a possible threat to another ninja's existence. One on the ground, though, was merely a minor occurrence that was barely taken notice of. Kaede tucked her kunai back in her pouch—another way to keep on another's good side.

For what felt like hours she walked through the woods, trying to keep focus on her task ahead instead of the time alone that she would have with Sasuke. Oh, Kami, she was looking forward to seeing him. She may be betraying him, but she loved him nonetheless. He may be using her, but she still loved him. He could do anything in his power to make her angry, to make her hate him, and yet a little piece of love for him would always be left over.

Sure, it would be difficult to keep her mind on what she had to do, but for now, she figured she could daydream and wallow in memories of better, happier times. Such as when she and Sasuke had gone out with Naruto and Sakura to the lake for a swim. A repeat of their last trip there together, when they'd been kids, occurred, ending with Naruto face-down in a puddle of mud, Kaede and Sasuke hooting with laughter, and Sakura standing triumphantly over the shamefaced soon-to-be Hokage.

She smiled more as she thought of what had happened when she and Sasuke had gotten home after a day of swimming and nautical antics. Sasuke had taken her by the hand, and led her to the back of the house, where they'd stood on the wooden balcony overlooking the desolate Uchiha district. Leaning against the Uchiha, she'd listened to him point out all the starts, constellations, and tell stories about each and every one of them. Pegasus was her favorite—there was something about a flying white horse that just made her want to jump into the night sky and join him.

"Oh, Sasuke, what happened?" she asked to no one in particular, stopping her lengthy walk and leaning against a tree trunk. She stared up in between branches, trying to catch sight of the beautiful Pegasus. In her minds eye, as she traced the outline of the starts, she saw long, muscular legs churning, feathered white wings beating against the air, and the sculpted, dished head of an Arabian-like horse.

"Epsilon Pegasi," she recited. "Beta Pegasi. Alpha Pegasi. Gamma Pegasi. Zeta Pegasi." Soothed by the poetic sound of the stars, she continued to name as many as she could in the constellation. Eta Pegasi, Theta Pegasi, Tau Pegasi, Lambda Pegasi, and, oh shoot. There were so many she couldn't remember them all. But she could still hear Sasuke's rhythmic voice telling her the names of each and every star. He knew them all by heart, she remembered.

Suddenly, she tried to remember what Sasuke had said his favorite constellation was. She racked her brain, unable to recall what it was.

"Orion," a voice whispered in her ear, and she turned to see who it was, but there was no one there. Frightened, she looked around desperately to find the source of the voice. She might as well have been looking for a piece of hay in a wheat field for all she got out of it. Maybe it'd been the wind, she told herself. But the voice had sounded so clear…and it had carried the name of Sasuke's favorite constellation.

"Orion," Kaede repeated, testing the feel of the word. It sort of rolled off her tongue, and she found herself smiling as she thought about it. Sure, it seemed to resemble Orochimaru a little too much, but it was just far enough off that it made her feel comfortable and warm inside.

Sasuke had once told her the tale of Orion. The great hunter, he'd called him. Her smile grew even wider as she recalled the story.

Orion was the Great Hunter, the one who hunted the Taurus and Lepus the hare. His faithful dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor, followed him. He was madly in love with Merope, of the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades. His life ended tragically, though, when he stepped on Scorpius, the scorpion. After that, the gods placed him in the sky as a constellation along with his dogs, and the animals that he hunted, but kept him far from Scorpius so Orion would never get hurt again.

Kaede sighed and sank down to the ground, her back still against the tree. How she wished that times long ago could be present. How she wished that things could go back to the way that they used to be. It stung to imagine that all of these bad things could have been stopped it she'd paid more attention.

"Quit it," she scolded herself, shaking her head firmly to get rid of the negative, self-pitying thoughts.

Looking up, she refocused her attention back to the starts. They were just little bright lights sprinkled across a vast and unknown black background. Each individual star had its own story to tell, and those with similar tales wove into the fabrication of a strong, independent, and mythical person or creature.

Making a split-second decision, Kaede backed away from the tree she had been leaning against and looked up. Just barely, she was able to judge which tree was the tallest, and focused her chakra into her feet, eyes locked on the tree's trunk. She rushed at the tree, her feet hitting the bark with a barely audible _rap_, and ran up. In no time, she'd reached the top of the tree and was perched lightly on its highest branch. Her chin was tilted up, towards the sky, as she wished and hoped to jump into the sky and swim among the stars, to stand beside Orion, beside Pegasus, Scorpius, to dive in the Little Dipper and the Big Dipper. But those were only dreams.

A small, almost imperceptible creak came from somewhere behind her, and she swung around, reaching for her weaponry pouch.

It wasn't there.

Startled, conned, and a little dazed, she closed her eyes and concentrated on her ears. Ever whisper of wind, rustle of leaves, shift of a small baby bird in its nest was heard. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, and she ducked her head to the left.

A fist appeared to her right, and the connecting arm swung to hit her nose. Her hand flew up and caught the person's wrist, clutching it in an iron grip. She swung them around and slammed them onto the branch. The darkened shade from the trees made it hard to make out whom this person was, and Kaede had to squint to see.

Spiky dark hair was barely visible, but those eyes were completely clear. Red as blood, with marks black as a raven eerily decorating them, they stood out more than anything else.

Kaede stepped back, her brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed. Slowly, as if it were causing him a great deal of pain, the person stood, and Kaede was better able to view the person who had attempted to attack her. Her jaw dropped in realization, and as she took a step back, the man in front of her disappeared in a puff of smoke, and she backed right into the sharp point of a kunai.

"Ah," she gasped, halting in her tracks and catching her breath in her throat. The man behind her, she knew, was an Uchiha all right. But it wasn't the one that she'd been hoping to find. It was his older brother.

Itachi laughed softly. "I remember the last time we met, Kaede Shinota," he murmured threateningly, although how he kept his voice monotonous and still managed to sound mean and dangerous, Kaede didn't know. "Would you like to relive Tsukiomi? I think it would be good for you to pay a visit." When she shivered, he chuckled, and she mentally kicked herself for showing signs of fear. "You remember, don't you? And…" He leaned closer to her ear. "You're afraid."

With his words echoing in her head, Kaede felt the soft thud of a hand connecting with a pressure point on her neck, and she went spiraling into darkness.



Impatiently, irritably, Sasuke paced, back and forth, back and forth, to the point where he was driving himself crazy. His mind was whirling with images, memories, and thoughts of Kaede. A few days ago, he'd come face to face with her, and she'd nearly killed him. But she had given him the chance to walk away and live. He wanted to believe that she'd let him leave with his life because she still loved him.

And yet, her words wouldn't allow these kinds of thoughts. _"Traitor." _How could she have said that to him? Didn't she love him? Or did she play him for the fool?

He growled in frustration, trying to find something else to think about. But no, everything he thought of he managed to weave back to Kaede. The war with Konoha had started with leaving Kaede, then attacking the village when she reigned as Hokage, and still went on with her as the substitute Hokage for Naruto, who had been attacked by another during their fight, and since hadn't been seen. Itachi—that horrible man had put Kaede through Tsukiomi. Kabuto led to Orochimaru, who had trained Kaede under his wing and had nearly killed her. It had only been Sasuke's quick thinking that had saved her from imminent death from a fall from the Hokage temple.

Was there anything in this world that he could not relate to Kaede?

Sasuke tore his sword out of its sheath and threw it at the wall to vent some anger. It landed and stuck in the wood, waggling comically from the sheer force of the throw. If he was to focus on whatever Orochimaru came up with for him to do, he needed to stop thinking about the past and concentrate on the present and future. But, Kami, she was so wonderful.

Slowly, Sasuke sat down on the floor by the door, staring up at the wall above him at his sword that had ceased it's waggling and was standing out from the plaster. He was in one of the many bedrooms in the Hokage temple in the former Leaf Village. For now, Orochimaru had left him alone to do whatever he pleased, but that was definitely not going to last long.

For the past several years, Orochimaru had ruled with an angry, pointy iron fist over the Sound village. Those who had survived the attack were forced to live with his stupid, indecent rules. The snake Sannin was wretchedly mean to those who he thought even looked at him the wrong way, throwing them in dungeons, forcing them to do hard labor, and even going as far as to torture them, then kill them in a painful, slow way.

Even Sasuke, whose hardened heart could take almost anything, couldn't stand to sit around and watch him get away with this. But Orochimaru had the upper hand on him—the curse seal. Damn that mark. He couldn't escape it. If Orochimaru had even the tiniest suspicion of Sasuke's plotting to run off, the Sannin could activate it and cause him terrible pain.

"Kami," Sasuke snapped, leaning his head against the wall. Once again, his thoughts trailed back to Kaede. She had been watching him fight against Naruto, her hazel eyes all big and nervous as she'd tried to fight Sound ninja and look over her longtime friend. It hadn't been long, though, before she'd disappeared underneath a barrage of attacking Sound, and Sasuke had felt his anger boil to the surface. How dare they try to hurt her! He'd tear them limb from limb, as soon as he was finished with Naruto.

He'd been so sure of this that he'd fought with renewed vengeance, until Naruto turned his head and looked over his shoulder at something…or someone. Naruto had glanced back at Sasuke with apology and fear in his eyes—an expression Sasuke never wanted to see on the blonde's face. And then, someone grabbed him from behind and yanked him away from their fight. Annoyed, Sasuke had activated his Sharingan, but had only managed to glimpse the person before the rest of the battle had consumed him.

Over and over again he replayed the small flash of clothing he'd seen. The only coloring he was able to make out was red, and the tone of skin. He growled. If anything had happened to Naruto, he would never forgive himself. Sure, he was on the bad side, Orochimaru's side, but that didn't mean he didn't care for his friends. In fact, during the entire attack, he'd kept an eye on Sakura as much as he could, and tried to keep up with Kaede, until the Konoha nin had begun a retreat, during which he'd left.

Gah! If only he'd paid more attention!

Wait…red?

Sasuke sat up straight, his mind working quickly. There was only one person who would have red sprayed along their body and two blurs on their face. His brother. Sasuke stood and yanked the sword out of the wall, sheathing it sloppily before dashing out the door. Orochimaru had given him a break, and he intended to make the most of it.



Silence.

Eerily, it seemed to fill the room. Kaede felt it all around her, as if the air was just thick with it. There were no comforting sighs or murmurs, no shifting of sleeping bodies, no aching where Miki had repeatedly whacked her in her slumber. Kaede's mind was groggy, and she definitely didn't recognize her surroundings. As her head slowly came into focus, she realized that even if her eyes were open, she still wouldn't know where she was, because Itachi had kidnapped her.

Her eyes popped open and she sat up, swung her legs over the side of the oddly comfortable bed she'd been lying on, and stood. The room she was in was small, like a large closet, with a tiny desk, the bed, and a door. No windows, but she was used to rooms like these from living underground for years. Carefully, she stepped the few feet to the door and tried to open it. Locked, of course.

With a sigh, she placed her hands on her hips and glared at the wooden door, as if she could make it open just my staring it down. After a few moments, the doorknob turned, and she jumped back in surprise. Either someone was opening it, or she really did have some kind of power! Then she shook her head, settling that someone was on the other side.

In a moment, the door swung wide and there stood Itachi, holding, surprisingly, a tray laden with food. Kaede stared as he kicked the door shut behind him and set the tray down on the small table. She sank onto the bed, content to watch for now and not provoke him to use his Mangekyou Sharingan on her. The Uchiha glanced up at her when she made no move towards the food and waved one hand at the desk.

"Eat," he commanded in that low voice of his, and she got up with all the courage she could muster (which wasn't much) and strode over to the food, watching him out of the corner of her eye. He made no move towards her, which she took as encouragement to try the food, and she hesitantly picked up a biscuit.

Just as she opened her mouth to take a bite, something occurred to her and she snapped her jaw shut and placed the biscuit back on the tray. Itachi watched her, his face expressionless, but his head tilted in what seemed like child-like curiosity.

"Is there something wrong with the food?" he queried, head still cocked to the side. "I promise there is nothing in it. It would be a stupid move to kill you now instead of later, before we use you as is necessary."

For a moment, Kaede had almost thought the man to have a little compassion, until the last part of his sentence. Great, she thought irritably, and took a big bite of the biscuit. It was delicious. After that first mouthful, she ate ravenously, Itachi silently keeping an eye on her all the while. It made her slightly uncomfortable to have someone watch her eat, but she ignored it and shoved mouthfuls of food down her throat. She hadn't realized she was so hungry—it must have been hours since she'd been kidnapped and taken wherever she was. As soon as she'd swallowed the last bit of food, she turned to look at Itachi, her bravery renewed.

"Alright," she stated bluntly. "Where am I, what do you want, and why me?"

Itachi chuckled softly. "You're very direct." He moved to the table, picked up the tray, and walked to the door. "To answer your questions, you are in an Akatsuki hideout, we need you as bait, and we need you because you are the only person that can act as bait." And he left.

Kaede stood where he'd left her, gaping at the shut and locked door he'd gone through. After a few minutes of getting over her initial shock, she sat back down on the bed and placed her head in her hands. She needed to think this over. So Itachi had kidnapped her and brought her to an Akatsuki hideout, where no one would find them, which meant that she had little hope. They needed her as bait, too, because she was the only one that could do so. That would have to mean she was the only person that their prey was attracted to. Who could that be?

She was only able to come up with one answer: Sasuke.

But why would the Akatsuki want Sasuke? Kaede tried to list all the reasons in her mind. Sasuke was Itachi's younger brother, and therefore a threat. Okay, that was a good start. He was Orochimaru's apprentice, and also the Sannin's next body. If they had Sasuke, they could probably use him as a playing card to get back the ring that Orochimaru still possessed from his days in the Akatsuki. Which would make sense, seeing as they only had nine out of the ten members the clan was originally supposed to have.

She sighed and flopped on her back, the mattress bouncing slightly under her weight, and she felt her head spin until it stopped. A few days ago, she'd thought that she was going to fool Sasuke and betray him, for Konoha. But now, she was betraying him in a different way—for the Akatsuki, probably leading him into a trap.

Suddenly, out in the hallway, she heard a commotion, several bangs and loud, angry voices. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but she recognized one of the people yelling. A smile went across her face as she heard the lock on her door click, and something heavy hit it forcefully.

It flew open, and a blonde haired ninja burst in. Panting heavily, looking angry and insulted, Naruto held out his hand and silently beckoned her to follow him.

"Come on," he urged, and she jumped up, reaching for his hand. She grabbed it, but when they turned around, they came face-to-face with Kisame, a very _angry_ Kisame. The shark-like man growled and gave them a dirty look before slamming the door shut and clicking the lock, muttering something about letting them "have their fun."

With wide eyes, and utterly confused about what was going on, Kaede turned to Naruto, and squeezed the hand that she was still holding. The Hokage sighed and sank onto the floor; Kaede let his hand go, and he rubbed his temples with his thumbs. Kaede had no clue how he'd gotten here, what he'd been trying to attempt, and yet all she wanted to do was bend down next to him and hug him as tightly as she could.

After a few moments, Naruto looked up at Kaede and managed a small, stiff smile. "So, how'd you get in here?" She noticed his voice was rough and hoarse.

She raised one of her shoulders in a half-shrug. "I honestly don't know. But I should be the one asking you that question, Naruto. Last I saw you were fighting with Sasuke during the attack on our hideout."

Naruto sighed. "I know." He stood up and went over to the bed, sitting down before continuing. "Sasuke and I were fighting, and I was about to use Rasengan on him, but then someone grabbed me from behind, and I couldn't get loose. Sasuke just looked as if he hadn't really seen the person, because if he had, I'm sure he would have either smirked or attacked that guy. All he did was stare, until we left—I guess it all happened so fast that he didn't think anything of it." Naruto shook his head. "Next thing I know, I'm stuck in a cell somewhere down the hall from here, and Itachi and Kisame are hovering above me, talking about getting Sasuke to come to them, but that they needed more than his best friend." At this point, the Hokage looked at Kaede with sad, apologetic eyes. "They needed you."  
Kaede nodded. "I pretty much figured that much out for myself.

She began to pace the small length of the room, racking her brains for any way to get out. Naruto stayed silent, wallowing in his own thoughts, as if he, too, could thing of a possible escape plan. Out of anyone, she realized, he probably would be the one to do it. She smiled slightly at the thought. Sakura had to reason to worry—Naruto was all fine and dandy. But her smile faded as another question popped into her head.

She swung on Naruto. "If you're at the hands of the Akatsuki, then why aren't they extracting your demon? I mean, that's what they've been after, right?"

Shrugging, Naruto ran a hand through his hair. "That's what I would've thought, too. But I've been afraid to risk it and ask. If I remind them, then they might go ahead and do it, and…" He looked up with a worried expression. "I don't want to leave Sakura and the rest of you all alone."

Concerned, Kaede sat next to him and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. "Trust me, Sakura is fine on her own. And the rest of us—well, we'll fend." She chuckled, and was pleased when Naruto smiled.

"Thanks, Kaede."

* * *

**A few brother-sister-ish moments between Naruto and Kaede, and a little bit of Sasuke's POV in here, too. Keep on reviewing, and 'member, I'm open for ideas!**

**Love you**

**Nicola**


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: There's no such thing as a plan 

_I'm almost there, _thought Sasuke as he bounded through the tree branches, his feet barely touching the bark. His mind was set on one thing, and one thing only—rescuing his best friend, and possibly his old girlfriend. His grip tightened on the handle of his sword as the image of Itachi having hold of Naruto flooded his mind, and he flat-out snarled when Kaede replaced Naruto in the picture. If anything happened to them, he would never forgive himself.

He knew he was playing straight into a trap. Why else would Itachi have taken Naruto and Kaede if not to attract his little brother to his untimely death? But why would Itachi want to bother with him now?

_He probably wants to kill me because I'm a much bigger threat now, _he mused, ducking to avoid a low branch. _Or maybe he figures that if I am captured, Orochimaru will come running to save me and give up that ring. Ha. As if. _

Ever since leaving the Sound village, he'd seen one face in his mind. Kaede's face, always there, always smiling at him, always teasing him. He just couldn't shake that image of her hair blowing back in a light breeze away from her face, her hazel eyes dancing in the sunlight….argh! He was getting soft again—the last thing he needed right when Konoha seemed to be making a comeback was to let his mind wander from the real task at hand.

Yeah, that's right. Konoha was beginning to retaliate—after the Sound's last attack on their hideout, Orochimaru was on his toes, especially since they had escaped with barely a scratch on the numbers suspected to be down there. Of course, Sasuke knew just how many eligible fighters Konoha had, but like he would tell Orochimaru. That would mean putting Kaede, Naruto, and Sakura in danger, and the fate of the village he'd grown up in, the people who'd stuck beside him even after his betrayal.

He ground his teeth together, frustrated because of the indecision he was facing. If Orochimaru knew that he'd kept all of this valuable information from him, and run off to save his "old friends," the Sannin would be viciously angry. That would not be good, considering how powerful Orochimaru had become in the past years.

Sasuke's stomach churned as the sudden thought of becoming Orochimaru's new body came to mind. In about two years, that would be his fate. He shuddered; there was no way he wanted to be that man's body, even though the Sannin thought he was controlling him with puppet strings and a marionette. Sasuke had merely allowed Orochimaru to think this way, after all, leaving him the upper hand. So far.

With a renewed vengeance, Sasuke pushed off hard from one of the trees, cracking the branch and landing firmly on the next. Whatever happened, or whatever his actions caused, he would rescue Kaede and Naruto, no matter if his life served the fee.



Kaede paced back and forth down the length of the tiny room she and Naruto were stuck in. After Naruto's attempt at escape, they'd been locked inside with little to eat save for the one meal a day they shared. Itachi always brought it, never Kisame; Kaede guessed that was because Itachi had a better advantage over them than his partner would. Well, whatever suited them.

If she had to guess, she would've said that they'd been in that room for about a week, maybe less, maybe more. She had no clue how long she had been out. There were no windows to tell the nights from days, but she figured if their meals came at even intervals, once a day, she'd been conscious of at least three days.

Naruto, on the other hand, had been trapped in this place for a lot longer than Kaede had. When they'd locked him in a cell, a chakra-proof cell, food was not an option. The only thing he'd been allowed was water. Until he'd attempted escape, which in turn brought him to Kaede, who was given food that she gladly shared.

Letting out a breath, Naruto stood up from his place on the floor and halted Kaede in her pacing. "It feels like we've been in here for eons."

Nodding, Kaede replied, "I know. There's nothing to do in here but pace and try to think of ways to get out. The only time the door is unlocked is when Itachi comes and brings our food. And we have no way of getting past him." She sighed. "It's hopeless. We're stuck until someone figures out what's wrong and finds us."

Suddenly curious, Naruto asked, "Hey, Kaede? How did you get out of the hideout anyway, and what were you doing out there? Cause I know the Akatsuki wouldn't have gone in there with the risk of getting attacked."

Kaede should have known he would've questioned her at one time or another, so she sat him down on the bed and they sat back-to-back.

"Shikamaru and I had a last-resort sort of plan," she explained. "He and I decided that we were going to trick Sasuke, sort of betray the betrayer, if you can understand that. See, if I acted as if I were exiled from Konoha because I'd allowed him to live after a little confrontation, then maybe he would grow to trust me. That would give me the upper hand, because I would be able to get information from him that Konoha desperately needed, and possibly get back into the village in time." She licked her lips and tried to tell if Naruto was upset or not. He hadn't stiffened, or made any noise, so she went on. "It didn't really seem right, and I knew it would kill me to do it, but I agreed and we went along with the plan. It seemed like a good one, one that would work—since it's Shikamaru's idea, after all—but that was until I was taken. I guess Itachi and Kisame were just waiting for a time to get me."

Naruto was silent, unmoving, and apparently thinking. Kaede couldn't guess what he was figuring in his head, but she was fretting because he did not answer her immediately. Of course, Naruto hadn't been one to think before he spoke as a child, but now he was older, wiser, and the Hokage. She should know better than to think he would automatically blurt out a sentence.

Finally, he spoke.

"Kaede," he began, "I know you want the best for Konoha, and that you put the village before everything else, but this time, I think you'll have to keep yourself at the top of the list." He held up his hand as she made a noise of disagreement. "Now, listen to me before you get all upset. Sasuke is our friend. There is nothing more in the world that I would want than to have him back with us. I know him like the brother I never had—hell, I consider him a brother. He's a good guy, and a little messed up on the inside too. He didn't fight me with his Sharingan because he wanted to have a fair fight, not the upper hand like when we were kids. He never put you at risk because he still cares for you. All of those little things he did a long time ago weren't just tricks, and he wasn't just using you."

Kaede was stunned. Naruto really had thought about this a lot, and his words made her feel all the more guilty.

"Sasuke still loves you." Naruto turned around, and turned her around so that they were facing one another. His blue eyes were intense and passionate. "You should have heard him when we were fighting. He may not have been speaking, but the way he moved, the way his expressions looked, he was begging for our forgiveness. Which is why I did forgive him. But I never got to tell him."

"Oh, Naruto," Kaede said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He shrugged her off. "We can't keep hurting him this way, Kaede. He's our friend, and always has been. He just took the wrong path." Naruto looked down at his hands folded in his lap. "I never told you this, but…I saw Sasuke the night he left. He was far out of the village when I found him. I knew something was up, because of the way he'd been acting for the past few days. So I chose a night and left to watch him." His blue eyes looked back up, apologetic. "We fought, Kaede, for hours. He brought on his curse seal, and I had my demon chakra. It came down to the very last of what we had, and I lost. But he let me live. _He let me live._"

Kaede understood the importance of this. To gain the Mangekyou Sharingan, an Uchiha must kill his very best, closest friend. To Sasuke, that would have been Naruto. But he chose not to kill him. He chose to let Naruto live, because he'd known that his friend would survive and keep on trying. Kaede felt tears come to her eyes at the generosity and message of this small gesture.

Sasuke was still with them.



Sasuke stood in front of Itachi and Kisame's hideout. He was still, just staring at the entrance. Inside of this place were two of his three best friends. Inside of this place were his brother, Itachi, and his partner, the shark man. He drew his sword and ran the blade in front of him, using the reflection to make sure no one was behind him.

His Sharingan activated, and, with a determined look on his face, he back-flipped into the trees near the entrance. He could wait for them.



Naruto stood up, restless again. Kaede watched him make his way over to the door, study the hinges and handle, and begin his pacing. He was thinking, she figured, and observed him as he tried to work out a plan. Years ago, Naruto would have completely thrown out the whole "think of a plan" idea, and just gone with his gut feeling. Nowadays, he thought out every move before he made it. Kaede didn't know which way she would have preferred in this situation.

For a while, Naruto continued to pace. His shoulders were stiff, his jaw rigid, and his blue eyes lost and searching. Kaede continued to watch him, her own mind wandering from the situation at hand. If they did get out, where would they go? Of course Naruto would want to go back to their hideout, but what about Kaede's mission? Well, if it came down to that, her village would definitely come before her mission.

But didn't Naruto just tell her that this time, she needed to put herself before her village? It seemed barbaric to do something like that. It didn't make sense in her mind to put her own feelings before those of the citizens of the Leaf. For years she'd forgotten about the things that made her human and about herself. She wasn't the kind of selfish person that would think of only themselves and not of others. It didn't seem right.

"Kaede, I've got it," Naruto announced suddenly, pulling Kaede out of her reverie. Her head snapped up and she looked at him, startled.

"Huh?"  
He grinned. "I know how we're gonna get out of here."

Eyebrow raised curiously, she asked, "How are we going to get out?"

Naruto's grin widened and he rushed over to her, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her vigorously. "Remember when we were kids, and we'd get ourselves in all these stupid situations?" Kaede nodded. "Remember how we got out of them?"  
This time, Kaede grinned.

"Yeah!" Naruto said enthusiastically, his blue eyes sparkling with excitement. "We never had a plan! And this time, we don't have one, either! So guess what we're going to do?" He didn't give her a chance to guess. "We are going to wing it, just like we did when we were kids. We're going to fight tooth and nail and play it out as we go along!"

Kaede threw her arms around Naruto and hugged him. "You're brilliant, you know that?" He chuckled. "There is no way in hell anyone else would try to get out of here without a plan, other than you! Not even Sasuke, or Sakura, or me! So, let me guess, when Itachi comes?"  
"You've got it, girl."



By the time Itachi's familiar footsteps came down the hallway, Naruto and Kaede had worked themselves up into an excited and frightened bundle of nerves. They were waiting impatiently for the Uchiha to open the door, watching the doorknob.

The knob slowly turned, and painstakingly opened inch by inch. Kaede clenched her hands into tight fists, and Naruto sat rigidly on the bed. She darted a glance in his direction, and he gave her a firm, reassuring nod. After returning the gesture, they both kept their gazes on the door, and when it opened fully, Itachi stepped in.

Immediately, the tray went flying in the air, the bland soup and ramen spilling everywhere. Itachi was hit back, and Kaede flashed by him. It was her job to take care of Kisame, and Naruto's to fight Itachi. But when she began to run down the hall, the shark man never came out. She halted in her tracks, and looked over her shoulder. Naruto was darting down the hallway, Itachi in quick pursuit. The Uchiha was moving swiftly, seeming to float instead of walk.

At the sight of his legless appearance, Kaede flashed back to her first encounter with Itachi. He had had that same illusion-like way of moving. Wait, illusion….

"Naruto!"

The blonde Hokage's eyes widened as he realized at the same moment as Kaede what was going on. They looked down the hall, and saw that no matter how long they ran, it kept on going. Naruto's brow furrowed, and he made a chakra sign, halting in his tracks next to Kaede. She matched the chakra sign, and they both began to focus their chakra. Naruto's chakra became visible with the power of his demon, and Kaede had to work to not be distracted by the sheer amazing ability of the Hokage. He had definitely earned his position.

But Itachi's genjutsu proved to be too strong for Kaede, and when she opened her eyes, she did not see Naruto. She winced, realizing that Naruto had been able to escape, while she'd been unable to. Her heart beat rapidly against her ribs, and she took several deep breaths to calm herself down.

Naruto knew how to get her out of this genjutsu, but what if Kisame had gotten to him before he could help her? She gulped, but forced herself to remain alert to what Itachi had up his sleeve.

The Uchiha was floating eerily in the air, his cloak flapping around him, his face still covered up to the eyes by his collar. His red and black eyes stared down at her, his black hair falling messily over them. Kaede tried to take a step back, but found her feet wouldn't move. When she looked down, she saw they were rooted—literally, with roots—to the ground. Horror made its way across her face, and she stared up at Itachi, her eyes filled with fear.

There were dozens of copies of the Uchiha, all glaring at her. All the hands reached at the same time for kunai, and they all flew out simultaneously. Kaede cringed, and barely managed to keep in her scream when the knives pierced her skin. Blood oozed from each wound, and she wanted the burning to stop.

Suddenly, it did.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and jerked her head around to see Naruto, smiling half-heartedly. One quick inspection of her body proved that in fact she did not have any kunai in her arms, legs, or torso, and that she was perfectly fine, save for being shaken up a little.

"Sorry," Naruto apologized quickly, rubbing the back of his head. "I thought you were behind me and once I realized you weren't, I had to run back and help ya."

Kaede just nodded and turned to check Itachi's position. He was standing where he'd been standing for the longest, and judging by the massive weaponry stuck on the wall behind him, Naruto had been trying to break his concentration before trying to wake her up directly. Figures, typical Naruto. She smiled at the thought, and reached in her pouch for her kunai. With her luck, of course, it wasn't there.

_Duh, idiot, you came without it to seem like less of a threat to Sasuke. _She growled, and held out her hand to Naruto. "Give me some knives, eh?" When no weapons slapped immediately in her hand, she glanced at him, and he was pointing sheepishly at the wall behind Itachi. She sighed. "Great."

"Come on," Naruto urged. "We've got to get out of here."

Kaede gave a firm nod in agreement and took off at the same moment Naruto did. They ran as fast as they could, each feeling around them with their chakra and watching everything to make sure they weren't in another genjutsu. They weren't. With fast-paced strides, Kaede and Naruto reached another door at the end of the hallway, and burst through it. Sunlight hit them like a beacon, and they whooped in triumph. But they weren't out of it yet.

As they made their way across the grass outside the hideout, something caught Kaede's eye. She darted a quick look in its general direction, and was able to make out a human figure before being forced to run on. Something about that figure made her heart twitch, and she wanted to go back and see what it was. But Naruto was ahead of her, and yelling at her to run faster if they wanted to get away.

She covered the distance between herself and Naruto quickly, and they ran side by side, for a few moments before the dizzying footsteps behind them stopped. They, too, stopped, and saw that the figure had leapt from the trees and in front of Itachi. From the way they looked, and the all-too-familiar black hair standing on-end, they both knew it was Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" Kaede cried, and the younger Uchiha's head turned to stare at them blankly. She saw the look of determination and revenge in his red eyes, and she looked away. Naruto tugged on her arm.

"Kaede, let's go. Let them fight it out," he told her, and she reluctantly followed the Hokage, trying her best not to look back.

The farther they ran, the louder the voice in the back of Kaede's mind seemed to get. _Go back! _it told her. _Go back and help him! _But every time it spoke, she ignored it. She wasn't teammates with Sasuke anymore; he had betrayed them. Besides, he could pretty much fend for himself with his Sharingan and that curse seal Orochimaru had given him.

Kaede clenched her fists, bit her lip, and forced those thoughts from her mind. What she needed to focus on right now was getting back to the citizens of Konoha and her friends, and showing them that she and Naruto were just fine. She knew that Sakura would have a fit to see Naruto back again, and that she herself would be welcome in the arms of all her fellow Jounin. Well, not all of them.

They were still missing several of their ninja, even if they'd collected several of them back during a second attack on what was left of the Leaf. Sure, Jiraiya was back, and Kakashi and Gai and several other ninja that Kaede had grown up with, but they weren't enough to hold back an entire army.

After a while, Naruto stopped, and Kaede halted next to him, panting slightly from the length of the run. She hadn't had so much exercise in a long time.

Naruto turned and stared back the way they'd come, his blue eyes glazed over with worry and regret. Kaede knew that look—she had seen it in her own mirror so many times in the past years, ever since the war had started.

"Thinking about going back?" she asked, shoving one hand into the pocket of her pants as she watched Naruto for an answer.

He shook his head once. "No." His voice was soft and far away. "I'm wondering why we haven't heard their battle yet." Quickly, his gaze turned to Kaede. "Don't you think we should've heard at least something by now?"  
Kaede saw that Naruto just wanted a comforting answer, and that that desire clashed with his need for the truth. She struggled to find the right thing to say. She didn't want to make him upset, or encourage him to go back, but she didn't want to lie to him, or seem like she didn't care. Finally, she just shrugged. "Maybe. It depends on what kind of battle they're having."

Satisfied, Naruto nodded and took off running again. With a sigh, Kaede followed, her arms pumping by her sides. For now, she would just have to settle with being happy that they were out.



It was well into the next morning before Kaede and Naruto stopped running and decided to camp out. Weary, sweaty, and with jelly-like legs, Kaede flopped onto the ground and did not move. In a moment, Naruto lay down beside her, his arms propping his head up like a pillow; he heaved a grateful sigh and turned his head to smile at Kaede.

"Well, at least we're outside," he said, trying to be chipper despite their obviously bad situation.

Kaede shrugged, not totally agreeing with him. If her memory served right, they were somewhere outside the gates of Konoha, but pretty close to the old village. At the moment, lying here in broad daylight, weakened from a long run, they were sitting ducks for Orochimaru and his men. She knew the man well, and knew that he would have troops out and about to capture or kill possible wanted ninja, and to stop any invasion that anyone would dare to try on the Sound village. There wasn't much they could do other than fight, and they were too tired for even a short sprint.

Neither of them dared to fall asleep, for they were afraid that if they did, they would wake up in the clutches of Orochimaru, or not at all. Even closing their eyes for a moment made horrible images flood their minds, and they would just snap their eyelids back open. And they both struggled with their own thoughts as well as the tiredness.

For the longest, Kaede had longed to just sit down and think about her and Sasuke's relationship. There were so many things she just wasn't sure of. OK, so he loved her, and she loved him. That would seem to be the only thing any relationship needed, right? Wrong, so far wrong. Their association with one another held so many complications, like their alliances. Kaede's alliances lied with Konoha and her fellow ninja. Sasuke's lied with Orochimaru and the Sound village. She wanted to be the strongest ninja she could and live through this war to see her village rebuilt. He wanted to become as strong as possible, develop his Sharingan to its full ability, and kill his older brother for revenge on his clan.

Another thing standing in the way of their partnership was the war itself. It separated their chosen sides with a thick, stern black line that not even the bravest of ninja would dare to cross. Kaede knew that she would only step over that line for Sasuke, and he for her, Naruto, and Sakura. She knew he had feelings still for Konoha, and that those feelings would never go away completely; he knew that she hated the Sound village with a ravaging passion, and she wouldn't ever come to like it.

It totally and ultimately sucked.

She gave a tiny mew in frustration and rolled over onto her side, her eyes level with the tips of the blades of grass. There was no getting around it—chances for her and Sasuke to be together were slim, slimmer than the chances of her growing sideburns, cutting and dying her hair, and pretending to be Naruto.

Maybe there was a way, she mused as her mind began to form a plan. Maybe there was some way that she and Naruto could pull this off. If it worked, she could be with Sasuke, and she could help Konoha, too. She smiled, and sat up, all weariness forgotten.

"Naruto," she hissed, and the blonde shot up, looking around with wide eyes. She stifled a giggle as she realized that he'd thought she had seen someone. "I have an idea."

At this, Naruto smiled, and leaned in to listen. While she told Naruto her plan, Kaede felt her heart flutter and butterflies swarm her stomach like they used to when she saw Sasuke as a kid. By nightfall, hopefully, she and Sasuke would be together

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**Okay, that was chapter ten. I know the past few chapters have been a little dreary and uneventful, and that they weren't the best I'd written, but trust me, tbe next ones will be better. It was hard to go without finding a reason for Sasuke to come to both Naruto and Kaede, and that would have to happen for Kaede's plan to work, so Itachi and Kisame it was. Oh, and if you all haven't caught on, Itachi just wanted to remind Sasuke that he was stronger than him, and to perhaps exterminate the threat of his little brother. :D **

**So, I hope you enjoyed, and please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please review! It makes me worry when I don't get reviews:( So review, please, and I'll be happy to write more.**

**Love ya**

**Nicola**


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: Together Again 

While they waited for the right time to find Sasuke, Kaede and Naruto sat back to back in the little clearing they'd found, watching for any enemy Sound nin. Both of them had reasonably woken up and forgotten their aches and pains at the excitement. Well, at least Kaede had. She couldn't speak for Naruto, but she figured that he felt the same way.

She grinned as she thought of their devious little plan. It went like this—Naruto would go with Kaede to find Sasuke, and make sure Itachi hadn't killed him, which wasn't likely. Then, once Sasuke had agreed to stay with Kaede and help keep her safe, which they knew he would, Naruto would head back to the underground and let the others know he was OK. He would work with the rumor that he'd passed ways with Kaede on the way and that she'd told him the mission was going great, and Sasuke was in the palm of her hand.

Her grin widened. It was almost full proof; the only one who would suspect anything would be Shikamaru, and it had originally been his plan, so he would be stubborn about it, saying it was absolutely perfect.

Naruto reached behind him and tapped her arm lightly. She jumped, slightly startled, and returned the gesture. They'd agreed that this would be their signal so as to refrain from speaking and alerting the Sound nin to their presence. Together, they stood up and set off at a refreshed run into the woods. They had hardly an idea where Sasuke would be after his fight with Itachi, given that he'd lived, or what condition he'd be in. But that didn't matter to them—it never had. Since childhood, Naruto had fought solely on spur of the moment intuitions, and it eventually rubbed off on Kaede.

All of the things that Kaede normally would've thought on such an important mission left in a rush and were replaced with Sasuke. Her heart gave a little leap and increased its rhythm, pounding restlessly in her chest. Excitement and anticipation caused adrenaline to pump through her veins. She felt great, better than she had in years, honestly, even after her first trip outside after so long. The thought of just seeing Sasuke up close again, and not in combat, sent chills down her spine and a flush to her cheeks.

With a pleasant little squeal, she surged ahead of Naruto, her brown hair flying out behind her and her lips tilted up in a smile. She heard the Hokage stifle a chuckle behind her—he was trying not to attract attention to them—and her smile grew wider. They were getting closer, she knew it.

Another chill crept up her back and she turned her head to look back at Naruto as something horrible made her catch her breath and clench her fists. He nodded encouragingly, and caught up with her in a few strides.

"What's up?" he asked, pushing off a branch and heading headlong back into the air. "You aren't getting upset about the plan, are you? Because you're not betraying him."

Kaede shook her head rapidly. "No, it's not that. I'm just…nervous, I guess. I mean, the last time I saw Sasuke I told him—no, I promised him—that the next time, I wouldn't let him get away so easily." Her hazel eyes were wide with regret as she looked at Naruto. "I told him I'd kill him."

"Oh." Naruto was silent for several long moments, making Kaede even more upset and nervous than she already was. Finally, he relieved her of her suspense and spoke. "Well, I'm sure he'll understand."

What wise words, Naruto, she mused irritably, fighting back a sigh of annoyance and landing heavily on another branch. Her feet cracked the bark, and Naruto glanced at her in surprise. She guessed he was hoping that she wouldn't chicken out on him. Well, he didn't have anything to worry about. Her fears may be slowly surfacing the closer they got to Sasuke, but her love for the Uchiha succeeded over those fears any day.

Up ahead, there was a clearing, but Naruto was the first to sight it. Kaede couldn't really see where she was going—her vision was glazed over with thoughts of being rejected by Sasuke. She yearned to call him "her Sasuke" again, but it would be unsafe to do so at the moment. The only thing she was able to make out was Naruto's battered orange jacket, and she followed it diligently, like a blind man following his dog.

"Kaede, look," Naruto hissed, grabbing onto her arm. She stopped, and blinked several times until her eyes came into focus. When they did, she saw that the two of them were just a few leaps from the field, and in perfect view of a solemn Sasuke standing in the middle of it, his head bowed, his sword bloodied. At his feet was a figure in an Akatsuki cloak, but they didn't look like Itachi.

"Oh my God," Kaede murmured, realizing what had happened. By the way Naruto's fists clenched, he knew, too. Itachi had used a special type of cloning jutsu that allowed him to place some of his chakra into another person and disguise that person as himself. He'd used it before, when fighting Naruto, Kakashi, some old woman named Chiyo, and Sakura, during Tsunade's reign as Hokage.

Sasuke hovered over the body for several tense, painstakingly slow minutes, before he turned around and noticed his old friends' presence. His eyebrows shot up momentarily, and in his eyes glowed a spark of suspicion. Kaede knew exactly what he was thinking. Why were they here? Was she going to keep her promise? Was she going to try to kill him?

Her chest ached at the thought of Sasuke seeing her as the enemy. She wanted to tell him how much she needed him to trust her, to still care for her. Her gaze flew to her feet, unable to deal with meeting his eyes. Someone touched her shoulder, and she thought it was Naruto, trying to convince her to look up and face Sasuke.

"No, Naruto, I—" As she spoke, she had lifted her chin, expecting to see the blonde Hokage staring sternly down at her. Instead, a pair of lips met her own and a rough, but yet gentle had cupped the side of her face. She immediately knew who it was, and fell into the kiss, letting her arms rest on his shoulders. The feel of his lips on hers was a long-awaited sensation, and she yearned for it to never end. His mouth was soft, and the way he kissed her…it filled her with passion that she hadn't felt in a long, long time.

When they finally parted, Kaede stared up into Sasuke's black eyes, and saw they weren't hard and closed off like they normally would have been. She gasped, finally seeing what Sasuke had kept from her for years. Sure, he had said it so many times, and his kisses oozed it, but there had always been a longing need to see it in his eyes. He loved her, forever and always.

Sasuke tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and rubbed her cheek lovingly. She couldn't take her gaze from his, and let her hands lay on his chest. Neither of them wanted to speak, to break the moment, and neither of them did.

They stood there, eyes locked together in a glazed world of their own, wallowing in the feeling of being together again. Kaede's heart thudded in her chest, her mind completely oblivious to anything around her other than Sasuke. A small smile pulled at the corners of his lips; she returned the smile. How two people could stand together for such a long time, unable to move, was beyond them both. But it was happening, and it was happening to them.

In one swift movement, Sasuke grabbed Kaede's hand and jumped off of the tree branch and back into the clearing, towing her with him. She landed easily on her feet by his side and smiled up at him. He didn't look back, but that was Sasuke for you. He never expressed his feelings any more than was necessary.

Kaede knew that he was going to take her somewhere, and she didn't care where it was, as long as she was with him. Sasuke led her off into the woods again, this time on foot. She jogged evenly just behind him, letting him show her the way. When they were younger, she thought with a smile, she would have raced him to prove her superiority to him, or at least that she could keep up. They would've been angry at one another because of the race, because they had tied. But not now.

Sasuke's grip tightened around her hand, and she squeezed back. She knew that he was beginning to get nervous; they were running straight back towards Konoha, to the last place Kaede would be safe at. She was willing to risk it, though, to be with him. She would risk everything for just a few more moments with his hand in hers.

They ran for the longest time, but they ran in bliss. Kaede couldn't recall how many hours, minutes, they had been skirting through the forest. Yet she found them all to be wonderful, sweet moments of silence filled with a quiet love. When they finally did stop, it was so close to home that Kaede could hear the soft murmur of the people in the village. Her heart tugged to the gates she knew weren't so far off, but she restrained the urges. Her place was with Sasuke right now.

She looked up at said Uchiha, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, trying to tell her that he knew how hard it was. She leaned into his embrace as he rubbed her arm, placed his cheek on the top of her head. This was the way he'd always held her, in his arms, gently soothing away her pains and worries. She knew that he would protect her, and keep her safe from anything that would harm her.

"Kaede."

His deep, velvety voice startled Kaede, and she looked up, questioning. Knowing that she was listening, Sasuke went on. "Why did you come?"

She knew just what he meant. He wasn't a person of many words, and this question was probably killing him. It was the last thing she wanted to hear, too, but it had to be answered.

After heaving a heavy sigh, she voiced the answer she'd been going over and over in her head, trying to make it sound right. "I…wanted to do something for…myself, and not my village." She looked up with pleading eyes at Sasuke, who was staring down at her in amazement. It wasn't something she would normally do. "Please, don't think I'm a horrible person. It's just…well, I've been serving Konoha for so long, and I had originally planned on finding you to…oh, Kami, I don't want to say it."

Sasuke's hand reached up and held her chin facing upwards. "Whatever it is, just say it. I'll forgive you."

Finding herself soothed by his words, she swallowed. "Okay." She hesitated, staring into those black orbs she so loved. She trusted him, and loved him. "Shikamaru and I came up with a plan to get closer to the Sound, to get inside information. I was to…oh, I guess you could say _lull _you into a false sense of security and slowly pick your brains for info. But then I was captured, and Naruto was there too. He encouraged me to do something for myself, to be with you. I listened. And here I am."

More silence followed her comment, and Kaede's chest tightened. Her throat became dry and cloggy as the quiet went on. Sasuke wasn't moving, was speaking, and she couldn't bear to look him in the eyes after telling him of her plan to betray him. She half expected him to get up and leave her, or call someone to come and kill her. A shudder rippled down her spine, and Sasuke's hand landed on her shoulder to sooth her.

His lips connected with the top of her head, and she sighed, relief flooding through her. He wasn't angry. He'd just been thinking.

He turned her around so that she was facing him, and she found herself staring up into his beautiful face. His hand caressed her cheek, and she couldn't move for fear that it would break the spell. Every time his hand lightly brushed her arm, touched her face, bumped against her own hand, an electric shock coursed through her, and she knew no other feeling like it.

They leaned towards each other, their foreheads pressing together. Their lips were inches apart, if even that. She breathed in; he breathed out. He breathed out; she breathed in. His lips barely touched hers, and she shivered at the sensation coursing through her. This was what she'd been waiting for all those years.

Again, his lips brushed against hers, and she gasped. And then, he kissed her full on. It was another one of those kisses that you never wanted to end, that told everything a person was unable to voice. She knew he loved her, she loved him back. But neither of them was really able to say it.

All too soon, Sasuke pulled away, and held her at arms length. He smiled, and she smiled back, still marveling at how handsome he was when he grinned. There was nowhere else she'd rather be than with Sasuke.

"I don't know how I ever managed to find you," she said to him, her joy nearly making her burst.

"And I can't fathom it either," Sasuke said cockily, and Kaede punched him lightly in the chest. He pretended as if he were mortally wounded and clutched at his chest, falling backwards. Kaede, unbalanced without Sasuke there to lean her weight on, collapsed on top of him and rolled off. By the time her dizzy head settled, Sasuke was laughing out loud, and she couldn't help but join in.

Unbeknownst to Sasuke and Kaede, several Sound ninja had just left the village, and were now jumping right in their direction. Both of them knew the consequences of being found together, but they didn't care, nor know that someone was coming towards them.

Sasuke was the first one to hear the Sound nin, and he immediately stopped laughing and grabbed Kaede's arm in the rough, firm grip that had once broken her ankle. She started, her eyes wide as she stared at Sasuke. He pulled her to her feet and held her away from him.

"You have to hide," he said under his breath, his tone completely serious. Kaede wondered why for a moment, until she too heard the Sound nin jumping through the trees close by. She shuddered, but tried to ignore the horrible thoughts flashing through her mind. Sure, there was a chance she and Sasuke could be caught, and they would both be killed in the most likely scenario. But if she listened to him, and hid, they might be safe.

"Right," she murmured, and ran off into the woods again. Her feet lightly hit the stick and leave scattered earth, barely making a noise. She could vaguely hear voices, deep voices speaking to one another, overlapping each other, and then a commanding one ordering the others to do something. She knew that one was Sasuke.

Her pulse pounded in her ears, her breaths coming out in gasps, her feet running faster, faster. The danger she was facing—the danger she and Sasuke were facing—if they got caught was enormous, more so than anything she'd ever had to confront. Missions, assassinations, and war…they were at the top of her list of the most dangerous things she had ever done. And each one of them were still under betraying her village under false pretenses and continuing to mingle with the enemy whom she claimed to love and who loved her back while running from said enemy/lover's boss and fellow enemies and trying not to get caught while betraying her village under false pretenses, which would ultimately end in her death for sure, and possibly her enemy/lover's.

What a head full of trouble, she grumbled silently to herself as she slowed her pace, catching sight of a rather large hole in a rather large tree. She could hide there, and she did, clambering quietly into the gaping gash in the bark, her knees hugged to her chest as she waited for someone—hopefully Sasuke—to find her.

In the long time that she waited, she ran so many things over in her mind. Like how she was going to keep pulling this little thing off. Well, this big thing. Or what she was going to do when—not if, when—her friends found out. They'd have her head for this escapade! Sure, they'd let her off for losing the village, leading Orochimaru to their secret hideaway underground, and so many other things…but this, this was off the charts wrong. There was no way they'd forgive her this time.

Finally, just as Kaede's eyes were closing from fatigue, someone's hand reached into the gap in the tree and lightly brushed against her face. Immediately she knew who it was, and she willingly let the person pull her out of the tree. She hugged Sasuke, glad to see him, to be out of that little hidey-hole and in his arms again. He was safe, that was all that mattered.

"Are you okay?" he asked monotonously, letting her go and shoving his hands in his pockets. She rolled her eyes, having forgotten his little habits.

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied, her voice just slightly stubborn and indignant. "I don't need your help." Inside, she was smiling. This was how she and Sasuke had gotten along most of the time, by arguing.

"Well, then." Sasuke turned and started to walk off, and Kaede brushed past him, prepared to lead the way even if she had no clue where she was going. After walking a few steps, though, she stopped and turned to look hesitantly back at Sasuke. She didn't want to get caught in a trap or something.

A smug grin on his face, he charged to the front and grabbed her by the hand as he led her to wherever they were going. Her heart fluttered as his fingers laced with hers, and the pressure of him tugging her didn't relent. She hadn't felt like this for a long, long time, and it was well worth the risk to be here.

As she looked up and saw the side of Sasuke's stoic face leading the way, a smile spread across her face. She realized that now, she could finally call him "her Sasuke."

* * *

**Hey. I know this was a short chapter, but I couldn't drag it out any longer w/out killing myself to do it. Originally, I had planned this to be even shorter, yet I thought about all my readers and reviewers and how much they liked long chapters, so I was nice. Anyway, I'm out of school now and probably have more time to write.**

**Read and review, please! Thanks so much!**

**Love ya**

**Nicola**


	13. Chapter 12

**Okay, another chapter. Whew, it took me a while to write this one. It's pretty angsty and memory-lane-y, and symbolic, but I think u'll like it. I credit Nickleback and Three Days Grace to helping me write this chapter.**

**Nicola**

* * *

Chapter Twelve: Two Hearts, Two Loyalties

Kaede nestled into the curve of Sasuke's arm as he pulled her closer to him. It was night, and they were high up in a tall tree, leaning against the thick trunk. Kaede could feel the bark through her shirt, but was distracted from its rough feel by the sound of Sasuke's heart beating right by her ear.

She closed her eyes halfway, drowsy and content.

After Sasuke had come to get her, he had explained that they would be staying in the woods tonight, a ways away from Konoha. And after that, he'd been silent, and Kaede hadn't dared to break his reverie. He was probably thinking of how they would pull this off, and how much it would hurt to have to leave her again.

While Kaede's mind might have been in complete bliss, her heart beat in confusion. She was utterly ecstatic to be with Sasuke again, and to be spending time with him, yet she couldn't help but wonder how everyone was getting along knowing that she was out here doing one of the biggest "missions" for the village. She swallowed hard, unconsciously trying to swallow the feeling of guilt that came with betraying her village in such a vile way. She was doing this all for herself, not for them. What kind of a person does that to the home, and the people, they love?

Sasuke must have felt her shifting nervously, though she tried in vain to keep still, because he moved his hand to the back of her head and stroked her hair comfortingly, not comfortable with speaking. She chewed on her bottom lip, still preoccupied by her curious inner battle.

"You know," Kaede finally said, after searching for a long time for the right words to begin with. "For the last years, I've waited and waited for you, keeping that image of you in my head wherever I went. You smiling at me from behind the newspaper, teasing me during training, kissing me then turning away. What was all that for? Where did all that go?" She shifted to the side and looked up into Sasuke's face, at his black eyes staring down at her. "You and I used to fight side by side for Konoha, used to be right with each other. I didn't understand what had I done to make it all go away." She felt the tears coming, but the long years of being by her and struggling with her emotions had made her strong, and she was able to push the tears away.

"Kaede, you didn't—" Sasuke began, but Kaede interrupted him.

"No, I didn't do anything. It was you." Her anger was beginning to surface, and she fought to keep it down. "You strung me along like a little puppy on a leash, knowing that you were eventually going to go over to Orochimaru. I should've seen that your loyalties didn't lie with Konoha. I should've realized that you were going to leave and run off to seek power. Well, you've got it. So why did you take me back? Why did I take you back?"

Sasuke showed no sign of emotion other than the slight tightening of his jaw. Kaede saw this, and bristled, ready for a smack, punch, scream, mutter, anything. But none of it came. He just sat there, staring straight ahead of him, his clenched fists shaking. She looked down at her own hands, lying in her lap as limp as a dead man's. She, too, was weak and infuriated, but more so at Sasuke's decision making skills than her own rampage.

The minutes ticked by slowly, more slowly than ever Kaede had felt them move, and neither she nor Sasuke made any indication of speaking. She had moved over to the other side of the branch, just staring at the bark and occasionally picking at it to release her anger. Her eyes shot back and forth along the little white speckles and lines cutting into the brown tree surface. Never did they stray upwards, where no doubt she would meet Sasuke's dark, ominous gaze.

The night wore on, and it seemed like an infinity before the sun rose, before Kaede realized how fatigued she felt, and how getting no sleep definitely interfered with her physical limitations. As she stood to stretch her legs, she came face to face with Sasuke's chest, then his chin, and finally, looking up, his eyes. He was staring down at her with this odd look in his dark orbs, something that made Kaede's heart twinge and stomach curl.

It was…guilt.

As she stared into the unfamiliar emotion plaguing Sasuke, Kaede wrung her hands together nervously. Whatever was coming, she could tell it would make a huge change in their relationship.

"I'm…oh, Kami, I can't say this," Sasuke began, running a hand through his black hair and darting his gaze downward before looking back up. "I'm sorry, okay? I don't know what I did to make you think that I'm such a horrible person, but whatever it was, I'm sorry for it."

Normally, when in better feelings towards him, Kaede would've forgiven the Uchiha. But the way he worded it, and since she was still pretty mad at him (holding a grudge, of course), she couldn't.

"I'm not going to forgive you," she said in a low voice. "Naruto told me to do something for myself for once, and I was willing to give us a try. But this isn't working. I love you to death, Sasuke, and I figured that I'd do anything to keep us together." Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat before continuing. "There is no way in hell that I am going to be with you anymore. You're loyalties lie with the complete opposite of what I thought they were when I first started to love you. Now I see. There's no bringing you back to us. You can help out in this war as much as you like. But you'll always be on _his _side, not ours. I don't care how much you protect me, I don't want it. I'm leaving, and I'm going back to the people I care about."

Staring in shock, Sasuke watched as Kaede turned to leave, then stopped and looked back over her shoulder.

"I love you, Uchiha Sasuke," she said in a low voice, obviously fighting back tears that threatened to fall. "But I can't be with you anymore. You're not the person I thought you were."



Kaede rubbed her arms and shivered, not knowing why she was cold, or where she was for that matter. If she had to guess, she'd say it was around noon, maybe later, and that the entrance to Konoha's underground hideaway was apparently not where she'd thought it was.

Okay, she knew where it was—there was no way she could have forgotten—but for some reason, she couldn't find it! She'd left Sasuke in the wake of her little outburst, and damn, had it felt great. Yet now, all she wanted was for him to be here to show her the way home. Or, rather, what was left of it.

What was left of Konoha…She sighed, and stopped her useless walk through the woods. There was no reason she should keep on going in the completely wrong direction. And there was a reason to turn around. A mischievous grin crept across her face at the thought now entering her mind. Spinning on her heel, she leapt into the trees and dashed in the opposite direction.

Her destination wasn't too far off—she may not be able to find the entrance to the hideout, but there was one place she knew she could find even if blinded. It was almost like a sixth sense of sorts, something she was proud of and that every other ninja was proud of. It was the ability to find their way home, even in the direst of situations, even when completely lost.

Her feet carried her subconsciously as she mentally prepared herself for the destruction and doom she was most likely going to find. Her old village home was probably in ruins, thanks to Orochimaru. She wouldn't be surprised to find that none of the remaining people remembered her face, or if there were any remaining people from the original crop that had been left behind in the battle.

The danger of what she was doing was definitely in the back of her mind; the only thing she was thinking was getting home and seeing what Orochimaru had done. She could already feel her anger boiling to the surface, and quickly calmed the tempest. It wouldn't help if she were upset and fuming when she entered the village. Hell, half of her didn't expect to even get beyond the gates. If she did, it would be a miracle, and even more so if she wasn't caught by guards and killed.

It wasn't long before she found herself within sight of Konoha. Without her headband, she looked just as plain and normal as everyone else, and if she was thinking correctly, the guards probably had no idea what the former Hokage of Konoha looked like. She took a deep breath, and jumped down from the trees, mere feet in front of the two bored-looking Sound ninja.

Their eyes darted over her quickly, but not so quickly that she didn't notice their careful scrutiny, and she smiled nervously. Inside, though, she was yearning to attack them and wipe those smug looks off their faces.

"Who are you and what is your business in the Sound village?" the one on the left, the chubbier one, asked. Kaede swallowed before answering.

"I'm a mere roaming peasant, and I'd heard so many wonderful things about Lord Orochimaru and his wonderful village, that I figured it would be a fine place for me to settle down," she said innocently, as innocently as one with a grudge bigger than the world could say anything. She could tell they were falling for it.

The one on the right, the skinny, tall one, nodded slowly. "We've been getting a lot of the likes of you around here lately. Lord Orochimaru said to go ahead and let you all in. You may pass."

Elation filled Kaede as she saw the gates slowly open, but as soon as she'd taken a step towards the opening, the taller ninja grabbed her shoulder. Fighting the urge to grab his filthy hand and throw him into the trees, she turned.

"Yes? Is there something you need for me to enter?" she said politely, hating the bitter taste the words brought to her mouth.

"What's your name?" the guard asked, and Kaede racked her brains for a quick name. One popped into mind.

"Haruka Karin," she answered, and the guard took his hand off her shoulder. She walked through the gates, her eyes wide and her heart pounding in anticipation.

The streets looked gloomy and dark, the shops empty, the people forcibly cheerful as they greeted each other. They may be wearing smiles, but in their eyes, they were miserable. Kaede was shocked at the way her village was. There were no bright colors, the damage from the battle looked to have been badly repaired, the market was not full of people talking and laughing, and no one met another's gaze. Before the war began, you could catch smiles, waves, and hugs being given between two complete strangers. ANBU strode down the streets, talking about previous and future missions, all the shops were open, children darted in and around the crowds, pretending they were elite ninja taking down the bad guy.

Smiling at the mere memory of what her village used to be, Kaede tried to lock eyes with an elderly woman walking by. The woman met her gaze, but immediately looked back down to the ground at Kaede's friendly demeanor. Confounded, Kaede lightly touched the woman's arm. The elderly lady gasped and started, swinging around with pained eyes.

"What's wrong?" Kaede whispered, suddenly recognizing the woman as the one who ran—or used to run—the apple stand in the market. Her name was…oh, right. Aya. "Aya-san, what's the matter?"

Recognition lit up Aya's face and a smile broke out over her wrinkled features. Her eyes crinkled in pleasure and she looked around for a moment before pulling Kaede into a quick hug.

"Hokage-sama," the elderly apple saleswoman said joyously. "You've come back! Oh, I knew you would! You would never let us down. You're here to take back the village!" Thankfully, the woman was speaking in whispers, and the passing Sound nin didn't hear.

Kaede's heart twisted in the worst possible way. How could she have done this? How could she have come back and allow herself to be recognized? Of course the villagers would know who she was. Of course they would think that she was there to save them all. And she wasn't. It was a horrible thing to place false hopes in those who looked up to her, who had looked up to her for years and years, and still remained loyal.

"Soon, Aya-san," Kaede promised. "But not now." When the woman's face fell, Kaede placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder. "I'm alone, there is no one with me. I couldn't just leave you all behind and had to see what Orochimaru was doing. It was killing me knowing that some people didn't escape."

"Oh," Aya said pleasantly, "we've been getting along fine. There are several of us who like to meet and study the history of the _Sound _and how it _came to be. _If you understand."

Smiling even more, Kaede gave a firm nod. "I'll be gone in a little bit. I just want a look around, and then I'll leave. I promise you, this will all end."

As they parted ways without another gesture, Aya said over her shoulder in a voice almost too quiet, "We never did believe you were dead."

Heart warmed by the small reunion, Kaede continued to walk along the streets she knew so well. This time, compared to when she'd last roamed the roads, there were no children squealing, happy greetings, friendly bargaining, or casual shopping. There were only bustling men and women, subdued little ones, and angry-faced, brooding Sound ninja. No one was happy, no one was celebrating anything. Everyone was quiet, solemn, lost and hopeless. Kaede kept her eyes downcast as much as possibly, blending in with the others, staying indistinct. If another person recognized her and shouted it out, there was no way she would be able to get out of this alive.

Looming like an ominous cloud over the village was the Hokage temple, and inside, she knew was Orochimaru. Two and a half years ago, she'd been in the very office he was residing in. That was her office, no, used to be her office. The rightful one to be sitting in the comfortable desk chair in the room with the wall of windows was Naruto, and he was not there.

Gritting her teeth, Kaede forced her gaze away from the Hokage temple and down a side street she knew led to her parents' house. She had no way of knowing if they had survived or not. Kyoto and Tami seemed like far away figures in a life full of love, heartbreak, war, and death. Taking on another spur of the moment idea, she turned down the side street and walked up to the modest little house with the white front porch. It, too, had faded to an ominous shade of its previous color. What it had looked like before, Kaede was shocked to not recall, but it was there, and hopefully, so were her parents.

Hesitantly, she stepped onto the porch, raised her fist, and knocked on the door three times, her normal greeting. For several moments, there was no answer, and then the door slowly creaked open. The tiny clank of a door chain reached Kaede's ears, and she wondered why her parents would have such a thing. Then she remembered: they were in Orochimaru's world now.

As a hesitant eye peered out at her, Kaede saw that the brass doorknocker was no longer in place. Perhaps it had fallen off with age, she mused, but waited for whoever was in the house to take off the little copper chain and open the door completely. When they did, there stood Kaede's mother, Tami, looking drawn, tired, and amazed.

"Hey," Kaede said nervously, raising a hand in greeting. That hand was immediately grabbed and yanked inside, along with the rest of the former Hokage. She stumbled past the doorway and onto the carpet, vaguely hearing the door shut and the chain and locks go back in place.

As soon as she had caught her balance, she turned to face Tami. The dark-haired woman stared back, her eyes filling with tears. In a moment's time, she flung herself at her daughter and wept into her shoulder. Years of comforting those in the underground had taught Kaede how to deal with a distressed and crying person, but it was just so weird to have to comfort the mother she had never felt close to, much less hugged any time that she could remember.

"Oh, Kaede," Tami cried through her sobs. "We've been waiting for you to come home for so long." A tearstained face looked up and Tami sniffled. "Your father…he's not here any longer. Kyoto passed on during the battle, but I know how proud he was of you, seeing you fight for your village like you did. We all saw, but we couldn't do anything about it."

A strange feeling crept into Kaede chest as she awkwardly patted her mother on the back. She knew she should feel grief and loss for her father, but it wasn't there. Instead, there was guilt and even a little bit of happiness. She assumed the happiness was from learning her father was proud of her, even if they hadn't talked. It made her feel good that someone other than Kakashi or Sasuke was proud of her accomplishments.

Shoot, it was probably just Kakashi that was left to be proud of her now.

She felt Tami move away and followed the woman to the living room, where they both settled on the couch. She could tell that her mother had suffered greatly from the loss of her husband, her village, her friends, and her daughter. It must be helping to see Kaede again, even if she wasn't there to stay. Tami understood that.

"I know that you're going to be leaving soon, since it would be horrible for the Hokage to be caught in the middle of the enemy's country," Tami said. "But it's so wonderful to be able to see how you've matured over the years. I'd thought for a while you were dead, but you're not. There was always something—mother's intuition, I guess—that told me you were alive all this time. And it was right."

"I'm sorry I won't be staying," Kaede found herself apologizing, her hand moving itself to comfortingly grasp Tami's. "But I promise, we'll be out of this soon. A month, maybe, maybe a little longer." She wanted to beat herself silly for even uttering those words, as she knew it would be a long time, over a year, before they had a chance of taking the village back. But the look on her mother's face was worth the lie.

"Oh, good," Tami said, relieved. At least she would have some peace of mind for a little while. It was then that loud stomps on the stairs leading to the porch and banging on the front door sounded, and both of them jumped. "No, they're here to collect taxes. Honey, you have to leave. Through a window, the back door, anything. Just get out. If they find you here, you and I both will die." Tami moved and kissed Kaede's cheek lightly. "Go on."

Unnerved by the gesture but having no time to worry over it, Kaede dashed to the back of the house, flung open the back door, and sprinted out. It banged shut behind her, and she winced, knowing that the most likely scenario was her mother never coming out of that house alive. Her footsteps hit the ground silently as she headed down an alley, clambered over a low fence, and rushed back into the street. She slowed down to a walk, her pulse still pounding in her ears, and blended into the crowds.

She walked subconsciously down the street, weaving in and out of the throngs of people striding along slowly on all sides. They moved in a subdued manner that she just couldn't understand. Everyone had been so happy and pleasant before, and now they were just…solemn, grave, listless. There was no joy left.

Heart heavy, she found herself turning down another street and coming face to face with a rusted iron gate. Her fingers traced over the reddish surface, the familiarity of its feel astounding her, but not in the manner you would have thought. It was more of an astonishment that this part of the village was still uninhabited, still standing even. The lonely, eerily empty Uchiha district was there, shadowing its streets like a quiet reminder of days past. Kaede pushed open the gate and stepped onto the path she had traveled on so many times.

The houses seemed the same; all of them did, as always. She passed by house after house, trying to imagine the people who had lived in them before Itachi had murdered them all. She passed by the Uchiha symbol with the large crack in it from the kunai Itachi had thrown in a fury. The only reason she knew this was from Sasuke confiding in her one night. That had been a quiet, grave, somber night.

The house she had shared with Sasuke was just ahead, and she made a beeline for it, not sure what she was wanting to see.

After becoming Hokage, she had cleaned out most of the things inside, save for the furniture, a few sets of bedclothes, shirts, and pictures that were too tender to look at anymore. The front door opened easily, and she stepped inside, coughing a little at the dust stirred by her feet. Her footsteps made little prints in the thick layer of dust on the ground, and she made a silent reminder to stir up the dust some more before leaving so as not to leave a mark of her presence.

Her hand traced over the mahogany table standing solidly by the entrance into the living room, as her eyes scanned over everything in the dimly lit room. There was the couch, still there, and the coffee tables, and the shelves and cabinets. And on one of the shelves was a picture of Team 7 in their later years, taken several months before Sasuke had left.

She walked slowly over to it, picking up the framed photo gently and wiping at the dust with her thumb. Sakura, smiling brightly as she held onto a grinning Naruto's arm. Sasuke and herself, standing side by side. Sasuke wasn't smiling, she realized with a small chuckle. Only her. She was holding his hand, but he didn't look too happy about it. Of course, he'd never been one for photographs.

Thinking of Sasuke's reaction to pictures brought a surprisingly clear memory to Kaede's mind, and she set the framed picture back down and hurried into the bedroom she'd shared with the Uchiha.

In her old closet, she dug around and found the photo album she'd been looking for. Carefully, she sat down on the bed and opened the cover. It creaked slightly with age and little use, but opened nonetheless. She flipped through photographs of herself and Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura, and Kakashi even, until she came to the last page that held a single large photograph.

It was one of Sasuke, one that Kaede had captured of him when he wasn't paying attention, when he was just being himself. He was standing on the back porch, leaning on the wooden railing, the breeze just slightly blowing his hair from his face. His headband was not on, and his eyes had a faraway look to them. Kaede knew that at sunrise, the particular time this photo had been taken, he liked to think about his brother, his family, what had happened. She never disturbed him, only that one morning, and he had threatened her with her life that if she ever showed that photo to anyone, he would murder her, personally.

She smiled again and tore the page out of the book. She tucked it under her shirt and into the tight waistband of her pants for safekeeping. Looking at the picture had caused her to make her mind up, and there was something she wanted to do.

Her heart in her throat, Kaede gathered up a few more pictures of Sasuke and placed them on the ground in the middle of the street. She built up a little bit of chakra and blew fire through her fist in a little burst, just as Sasuke had showed her to in case of an emergency and she needed to build a fire. The pictures lit on fire and the flames licked them, singing them. They curled into little black crisps and lay there, sizzling on the dirt. Kaede felt a tear slipping down her cheek. She touched the picture under her shirt, and kicked dirt into the fire, putting it out.

She turned, the tears finally flowing freely, and began to walk away from the exit back into the main part of the village. She was sobbing uncontrollably, and fought to stem the flow. It was hard, as she kept thinking of the pictures she had burned, and how hard it was to let go. But it was something that had to be done to let herself loose from bonds she'd had with Sasuke.

Just as she was calming down and beginning to come to terms with what she had just done, someone grabbed her from behind and yanked her into another abandoned Uchiha house. She went to cry out, but that person's hand went over her mouth and held her close. She wriggled and thrashed, and yet all her efforts were futile.

When she was finally let loose, all prepared to scream, that someone kissed her on the lips. Fury built up inside of her chest, and she shoved him away.

"Is that your favorite entrance or something, Uchiha? Cause it's getting really old, really fast," she snapped at the black haired Orochimaru loyal grinning down at her. Sasuke lifted his chin in greeting and tucked a lock of her brown hair behind her ear.

"Did you think anyone wouldn't recognize you, Kaede?" he said smoothly, and she bristled, smacking his hand away from her.

"What do you want? I told you I didn't want to have anything to do with someone whose loyalties lie with the dogs," she growled, clenching her fists and shoving them into Sasuke's chest with just enough force to send in backwards a step. He quickly held his balance and forced his face blank.

"You said yourself that you love me," he said quietly, his black eyes boring into her hazel ones. He was advancing on her, and like the lovesick puppy she'd once been, she was falling for it, standing in place as he leaned closer until their noses were millimeters apart. "You said yourself that you would do anything for me. Well, you have. You left your village, you're a betrayer, just like me." Her little crush-caused trance was vanishing quickly, and she felt herself growing angrier and angrier. That is, until Sasuke's hand grabbed hers and their fingers entwined together.

He held her hand up to his mouth and kissed it gently, and she fought back a chill threatening to creep up her spine.

"Where is this going?" she said, finding that her voice was wavering. She hated this hold that he seemed to have over her.

"It's time for me to return the favor," Sasuke said, obviously ignoring her last comment. "I can help you stage an attack on the Sound village, unknown, unexpected, one that will let you gain back the village, and reclaim it rightfully as Konoha."

Astonished, Kaede backed away a step and studied Sasuke's serious face. He looked completely set on this idea, she realized. After years of being with him, living in the same house as him, he was almost like an open book to her. Sure, there were chapters she had never seen, and would probably never see considering their current trust issues, but she still knew what he was thinking most of the time.

"You're for real about this," she said, not as a question, but a statement. Slowly, she nodded, lightly tapping her chin as she thought. There was no reason why she should trust Sasuke with anything, especially not with her village and its people. Why should she let him take the reins away from Naruto? Why should she take his word and allow him to assist them? He could be playing them into a trap. His loyalties lay with Orochimaru, not Konoha. There was no evidence to show he was speaking the truth.

"Sasuke," she said slowly, as if testing the name. "I can't trust you. You're on Orochimaru's side, not ours. I'm sorry, but it's not going to happen. We can do this on our own, without you."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Sasuke replied, moving closer and reaching up, touching her face. "Because I'm not the person you think I am. I may be working for Orochimaru, but there is nothing to keep me from not loving my village. Konoha is my home, it holds my friends, my past, my family, and I will not let it go."

* * *

**Yay! I loved the ending. But don't worry, it's no where near being the end. We still have two and a half more years to go before the final attack on the Sound by Konoha. And as soon as this story is finished, I'll write another one. Whenever u all review (please do!!!), give me ideas on a story you would like to read, and I will gratefully take the one that stands out the most to me and write it.**

**Thanks**

**Love ya**

**Nicola**


	14. Chapter 13

**Yay, two chapters in, like, two or three days. This is SO going great. :D Hey, I'm still open for ideas for a new story, or, if you all like, another story to add to the Sasuke and Kaede collection. **

**Oh, and if anyone finds a picture that they think looks like Kaede, please send it to me! My email is in my profile. Thanks!**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Trusting in Sasuke 

Nervous butterflies squirmed around in Kaede's stomach, making her queasy, and causing her little inner voice to go on haywire. It was screaming at her, telling her that this was a horribly bad idea, that she was going to kill everyone she ever cared about. Throat tight, she glanced over her shoulder to make sure Sasuke was still following, and pointed up ahead to the entrance.

Sasuke's declaration of his loyalty towards Konoha, and how he had not severed his ties to it had convinced Kaede enough to at least allow him to speak his plan. And she wasn't going to be the only one to hear it.

Her little concoction went as such: After tricking Sasuke into thinking she had left the village, she told him the truth, and he, too, admitted to hating the Sound and wanting to help Konoha. So she had decided to take him and let the others hear his plan.

It seemed decent, though Naruto would most likely see right through it. But whatever. Kaede knew he would do anything for Sakura, and for the village, to save it. Surely he would accept Sasuke as an ally once again. He missed their friendship, didn't he?

Kaede wrung her hands together as she stopped in front of the tree, and looked to make sure Sasuke had stopped next to her. His blank face offered no encouragement, so she just went ahead and made the chakra sign. Slowly, the tree retreated from the entrance, its roots creaking and grinding as they retreated into the earth as the tree moved. When the wooden door was clear, Kaede reached down to take hold of the handle, but Sasuke's grabbed it first. He murmured the jutsu to open the door and slowly recede the darkness—which Kaede hadn't even known he knew—and pulled it free of its resting place.

It moaned in resistance, and Sasuke let it drop to the ground. After the small thud of the door hitting the earth, Kaede peered down into the darkness as it painstakingly crawled away. Sasuke grabbed onto her hand before a small smile pulled at the corners of his lips. She returned the smile, squeezed his hand, and started down the ladder.

She didn't hear anything, but that was probably normal. No one was waiting in the little room for someone to come back. That would be rather stupid.

Once Sasuke was down the ladder, Kaede opened the door and walked down the hallway, squaring her shoulders and working up as much courage as she could. Sounds of clanking dishes and a whining voice Kaede was terribly glad to hear came from the kitchen. With one look back at Sasuke, who was walking gruffly behind her, she dashed down the hall and into the room.

There was Miki, scrubbing dishes and making much more noise that necessary. She was grudgingly tossing plates into the sink, running the rag over them, and shoving them into the drying rack. As she did so, she grumbled under her breath about "stupid dishes….stupid Lee, ragging off on his duties….damn that Naruto…."

Unable to control her laughter, Kaede burst into giggles, and a slightly angered Miki swung around to confront her. At the sight of the former Hokage, though, the Hyuga squealed and lunged at Kaede, flinging soapy arms around her. Kaede hugged her back, not caring about her shirt getting soaked. It was dirty, anyway.

When they finally parted, Miki waved a hand in front of her nose. "Whew! Girl, you need a shower!"

"Yeah, I know, Miki," Kaede agreed, smiling. That was when an "ahem" came from the doorway, and both girls turned around to see who had made the small but obvious gesture. Standing nervously in the doorway, his face a mixture of displeasure and anxiety, was Sasuke, his hands shoved in the pockets of his black pants.

"Oh. My. God." Miki's face turned stark white and angry, her fists clenched, and she wheeled on Kaede. "What the hell kind of stunt is this? You were supposed to be helping us, on your mission! And now you show up with him!! What the hell is going through your head, Kaede?"

"Calm down, Miki," Kaede said in as soothing a voice as she could. She wanted to hold off letting Naruto see Sasuke as long as she could, to gain allies who agreed with that Sasuke could help.

"Don't you tell me to calm down!" Miki screeched, whipping kunai out of nowhere and plunging towards Sasuke. Kaede made a grab for her wild and upset friend, but missed by a mile and the tip of one of the knives stabbed into Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke took the hit without so much as a flinch, and easily blocked the rest of Miki's mad attempts at killing him.

He grabbed hold of her wrists and made her drop the kunai, but he wasn't able to cover her mouth before she let out a piercing scream. Kaede couldn't really understand what her friend was yelling, but she thought it sounded something like, "Neji."

Her guess was proved correct as a swiftly and skillfully place juriken jabbed into Sasuke's back and shoulders, and his arms went limp, and he fell to the ground, unable to hold himself up.

Staring down at the betrayer, his Byakugan activated and his face not very happy, was Neji. He scoffed, walked over to Miki, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" he asked, and Kaede blinked at the kindness in his normally rough, monotonous voice. She had always imagined Neji and Miki hooking up eventually, but in the midst of a war that had killed their friends, made them fight amongst each other, and caused so much destruction it made them all sick? Who knew.

After her momentary confusion and astonishment at Neji and Miki's newfound relationship, Kaede went over to Sasuke and knelt next to him. She knew that in a moment's time, all of the other Jounin her age would be crowding around them, asking for an explanation at just what she thought she was doing. She ran a hand over Sasuke's face, brushing the hair out of his eyes and comforting in the best way she could. The effects of Neji's juriken would fade in a few minutes, but it still hurt, and she knew just how much. Once before, she had angered Miki to the point of explosion during her reign as Hokage, and the Hyuga had sent her spiraling into darkness with her juriken. She'd only been out for five minutes, but it had hurt like hell, and she'd been sore for days.

Just as Kaede had predicted, Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru came pounding down the hallway, and stopped at the sight of their old friend and their former Hokage having a quiet little moment on the floor. Kaede was still unaware of their presence, and was waiting patiently for Sasuke to regain his strength and chakra and stand.

Naruto cleared his throat impatiently, gaining Kaede's attention, and she stared hard into his furrowed face. He didn't look glad to see Sasuke at all, but what was she to expect? The two had been best friends, but when Sasuke had left for Orochimaru, it had nearly killed Naruto. Now, seeing Naruto's clenched fists, angered expression, and disappointed eyes, Kaede wasn't so sure that she had done the right thing by bringing Sasuke into this hell.

Slowly, she stood, meeting Naruto's gaze with a firm one of her own. She stared hard into his face, moving protectively between him and Sasuke. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Neji and Miki standing very close to one another, one seeming to comfort the other. Sakura, her pink hair drooping and falling in her eyes, watched the goings-on with an unreadable expression on her normally completely open face. Shikamaru, with his usual bored stance, stood next to her, studying the confrontation through practiced and calculating eyes.

Kaede refused to break the gaze she held with Naruto, and he, too, stood steady. That is, until Sasuke grunted and began to stand. Immediately, Kaede moved to help him up, but stopped when the Uchiha gave her a look that said for him to handle this. She stepped back, and Naruto shot her a glance. She fought back the smirk that threatened the take over her face, looked nervously towards Sasuke, and let out a breath.

The two old friends stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, but was really only a few minutes. Then, with the resolve Kaede knew he had, Sasuke held out a hand towards Naruto. Naruto looked cautiously down at the friendly gestured hand, back up at Sasuke, down at the hand again, and grinned wider than Kaede had seen him grin in a long time.

Welcomingly, Naruto grasped Sasuke's hand in his and shook it furiously. "Good to see you, Sasuke-teme," the Hokage greeted, pulling Sasuke into a hug. Not to anyone's surprise, the Uchiha boy did not hug his friend back, merely muttering a "hn," and waiting for Naruto to let go. When he finally did, Sasuke took a step back and rubbed a hand over his mouth. Anyone else would have thought it to be a simple, normal movement, but Kaede knew Sasuke was trying to hide a smile.

Miki still looked displeased, but held her tongue, Kaede realized thankfully. Apparently, if the Hokage accepted the betrayer, everyone else had no choice but to suck it up and go along with his decision. Kaede offered Miki a small smile, which the Hyuga girl returned, but only barely. She guessed that her friend was still pretty upset with her for bringing Sasuke into their little hideout, but she'd get over it.

"So," Naruto said suddenly, turning to Kaede after his jubilant reunion. "Is there any particular reason you brought him down here?" He jerked a thumb in Sasuke's direction, and Kaede peered over his shoulder to see what the Uchiha was doing.

When Sasuke saw her looking, he grimaced, and she giggled. Sakura was hugging him round the waist, not letting go, and babbling on about how stupid he was and how much she missed him and how useful he'd be to them and…

Unable to decipher anymore of Sakura's fast-talk, Kaede returned to her conversation with Naruto.

"He remains loyal to Konoha," she said in an authoritative voice that she had never used around Naruto. The blonde looked momentarily stunned, then urged her with a nod to continue. "I heard the truth and fierceness in his voice as he spoke the words, and I believe him with all my heart. He will be able to provide Konoha with the information we need to take back our village."

A soft smile spread across Naruto's face and he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I agree with all that, but really, Kaede, what was the reason you _wanted_ to bring him home?"

Forcing back the blush, Kaede met Naruto's blue eyes. "Naruto, you've known me for years, and Sasuke even longer. I really was never able to let him go, and I won't let him go, ever. No matter what."

Satisfied with that answer Naruto pulled her into one of the crushing hugs he'd used to give her when they were kids and she'd bought him a bowl of ramen. She laughed joyously and hugged him back, just as tightly. He gasped and chuckled, letting her go. They smiled at each other, shook hands, and turned to save Sasuke from Sakura.

As they pried the ecstatic kunoichi off of their old friend, Kaede felt her heart warm, and knew that finally, they were going to get somewhere.



"Alright," Shikamaru said in his serious voice, spreading out a map of Konoha on the large table in front of them. "Sasuke says he has a plan, and that it will take a long time to complete, but that it's worth it. Let's hear him out, alright?"

Naruto emphasized the words with a sharp glare around the room, meeting the gaze of every person there. Kaede nodded firmly as he looked at her, and he showed the merest hint of a smile. Sasuke stepped forward and began to draw long, skinny, curving lines all over the map. She knew what they were, and watched as he finished off the last tunnel and looked up.

"As you all know," he began, his voice monotonous as always, his face stony, "there are a series of underground tunnels running through the village and at least five miles outside of its walls. Several of the tunnels have been infiltrated and searched by the Sound ninja, and collapsed and guarded to prevent any invasion that might be possible. Though," he scoffed, shaking his head, "Orochimaru doesn't really expect any. Anyway, the tunnel we are currently in is a little over five miles outside the gates of the village. I managed to swipe blueprints for the tunnels in and out of the village, and know the entrances and exits into other passages by heart."

"Do you have these blueprints?" Shikamaru interrupted, his hands shoved into his pockets. When Sasuke nodded, Shikamaru held out his hand, obviously expecting the Uchiha to hand them over. Sasuke studied the Nara man for a moment, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a large, folded and rolled up sheet of paper. Shikamaru took it, and held it as Sasuke went on.

He leaned back over the map and drew X's through the areas of the underground city that had been caved in or guarded. "These tunnels are no longer accessible. _Yet_." He looked around the room, and his gaze lingered on Kaede for a moment. Then he returned to his plan. "I'll get to that soon enough. My plan is as follows:

"In the years to come—because this plan will not be a run in and get it done plan—we'll have to slowly and carefully begin to creep towards the farthest passage from the village, so that the Sand will be in closer reach and we'll have less of a chance to get caught."

"Hang on a sec," Miki snapped suddenly, all attention focusing on her. Kaede grimaced, knowing what was most likely coming. "What's with all this 'we' stuff? Who says we'd even let you help us, or even go with your plan, Uchiha? Naruto may consider you a friend again, but I certainly don't. I never met you before you left the village, but from what you made Kaede go through, and since you're serving that Sound trash, I don't trust you as far as I can throw you!"

"Miki!" Naruto shouted angrily, glaring in her direction as his eyes steadily turned red. Kaede knew this as a warning sign; his demon chakra was activating, and he was in a no-nonsense mood. "Watch your tongue!" He practically snarled the words, but Miki wasn't backing off.

"No," she growled in just as angry a tone. "I'm not going to watch my tongue. You may be Hokage, Naruto, but just because you accept this betrayer, doesn't mean the rest of us have to!" She moved to glare at Kaede. "And you, you're just as bad! How could you let an enemy down here? I know that you snuck out to meet this sorry excuse for a ninja, and you led those Sound ninja to attack us." Her voice was venomous now, and Kaede wanted nothing more than to punch that look right off her face. She was speaking to a former Hokage, one who could kick her ass in a split second if she desired.

"Miki, shut up. No one cares," Kaede said as calmly as she could.

"Oh, no. You knew damn well that you were being followed, and you just refused to tell us about it because you didn't want to get chewed out. Well guess what, _buddy_?" She spat the sarcastic nickname, causing Kaede to wince. "You're getting chewed out, and I hope that whatever happens to Sasuke happens to you, too."

With that, Miki turned and walked briskly out of the room. As she left, Kaede couldn't have sworn that her angry friend had let out a strangled sob.

Neji excused himself and went after her, and Kaede cleared her throat and forced her thoughts back onto the plan they were trying to concoct. Everyone was silently watching her for a reaction, but she gave none and tapped her fingers impatiently on the table. She didn't hear anyone move, but felt a hand on each of her arms, and looked to see whom it was.

Sasuke was standing behind her, his chin on her head, his hands on top of her arms in his own way of comforting her and telling her that he was still there. She swallowed and leaned against him, sighing. For several moments they stayed there, while everyone else politely looked away, until Kaede straightened and took Sasuke's hand in hers. She squeezed it gently, and nodded at the map on the table.

"If we get the Sand village to assist us in this plan," Sasuke went on, as if Miki's outburst hadn't happened, "which is likely, since they are as affected by the Sound as our village is, we can have them start the first attack. The Sand would send a customary war warning to the Sound village, but not lay out the date. Knowing the Sound, the area outside of the village will be heavily guarded, leaving whoever is bringing the scroll dead. Which would mean that, since the non-deliverance of the official warning would be the fault of Orochimaru's own game, he can't call unfair play. If the scroll is delivered, we will have to go with another plan. The chances of that are slim, though, so it should be alright."

"And what would be the second plan?" Rock Lee asked, looking suddenly interested at the prospect of such a devious plot. Kaede couldn't help but smile at his eager expression.

"That," Sasuke replied, staring Lee right in the face, "would be up to Shikamaru, myself, and the rest of us to come up with."

Rock Lee nodded, satisfied with the answer, and obviously excited to help concoct another plan.

"After the message fails," Sasuke continued, "we, underground, advance to the tunnels underneath of the village." He turned to the map at this, and pointed to a few places near the Hokage temple that hadn't been blockaded. "This is where we will start." With a glance at Naruto, Sasuke tapped an area by the wall surrounding the temple. "This is where a team of two will start. Kaede and Miki will come through here." Neji walked back into the room in enough time to hear this last comment, towing a begrudging Miki. "Neji, Naruto, you'll have here," he pointed to a spot on the opposite side of the wall, and waited for the two mentioned to nod before going on. "Sakura, you will take this tunnel."

"But that's one of the barricaded ones," Sakura said, looking at Sasuke in confusion. "How could I…oh!" She smiled, and Kaede couldn't help but grin, too. Sasuke wanted her to be one of the three that went through a tunnel by themselves and broke through the caved in tunnels. "Tsunade, you'll have this one. Jiraiya, that one."

"What's the risk of having a death in these tunnels?" Tsunade asked suddenly, and Sasuke just looked at her with that serious face of his. The former Hokage nodded slowly.

"Shikamaru, you'll be with Lee," Shikamaru barely held back a groan that was thankfully muffled by Lee's shout of joy, "going into this tunnel that goes right behind the gates of the village."

"And where will you be?" Kaede queried, worried that Sasuke would do something drastic. He looked down at her and offered the warmth of his amazingly expressive eyes. He had never looked at her the way he was now, and Kaede felt immediately relaxed, but she still wanted an answer, and he knew that.

"I'll be waiting."



All of the Jounin, save for one Uchiha who had to return to his duties to the Sound village, were in the room that they'd shared for the a while. They were all sitting quietly, as it was well after dinnertime and most of the people in the large room were asleep, escaping from the troubles they faced in dreams of better days.

Kaede wished she were among them, able to sleep without fitful nightmares of war, fighting, and the loss of friends. She couldn't help but refuse to close her eyes after suffering from visions in her slumber that caused her to wake up in a pool of sweat and tossed blankets.

She was sitting next to Naruto, who was slowly stroking Sakura's hair as she rested on his shoulder. Miki was on the other end of the small room with Neji, just quietly holding his hand and seeking comfort in his warmth. Rock Lee was snoring it up to the other side of Neji, earning disgruntled looks from everyone; Hinata was watching this all quietly; Shikamaru sat staring blankly at the cigarette he held in his hand, having not the resolve to put it to his lips and light it.

Kaede heaved a sigh and began to settle herself down for the night. It was no use just sitting around doing nothing. Maybe those dreams wouldn't haunt her for once and she would instead dream of Sasuke. Sure, that would be nice.

But not really, she reasoned as she rested back on the pillow and stared at the ceiling. So far, bringing Sasuke here head resulted only in making Miki angry, and causing Kaede to lose one of her closest friends. Miki would probably get over it, but there was no telling how long that would be! Kaede needed her friend to talk to—face it, Sasuke wasn't much of a conversationalist, Naruto was wrapped up in the war, even if he always had a hug for her, and Sakura was constantly trying to help the people that remained with their illness, injury, or other ailing problems. She rolled over on her side, trying to think of something that would help her sleep, not cause her mind to go whirring off in another direction. She remembered when she was little, and unable to sleep, that her mother told her to think of doing something she loved to do, or focus on a memory and try to keep it vivid in her mind. Most of the time, it worked. So Kaede decided to do it now and picked a memory of herself and Sasuke.

Kaede sat by the fountain, a trim, and young, sixteen-year-old ninja. Her fingers lightly skimmed the surface of the water as she thought about how her life had been going for the past year.

_She'd moved in with Sasuke, the love of her life, about eighteen months ago. He was quiet and stoic, but he loved her, and that was all she needed to know. They'd been living happily together, but none of them had even thought of commitment before. Except, Kaede was now._

_After visiting her mother, finally, and completely avoiding her father, she'd come to realize that if she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Sasuke, eventually they'd have to get married. But Sasuke wasn't the one to ask those kinds of questions, even when they were alone. He was so…lonely. It was like he didn't want to let anyone in._

_Just as these sad thoughts raced through her mind, Kaede felt someone sit next to her, and grab her hand out of the water. She smiled, recognizing the touch and turned to meet Sasuke in a kiss. He turned is head, though, so she only hit his cheek. _

_Several years ago, Kaede might have been offended by this hesitation, but now, she knew how Sasuke was in public, and respected his shyness. Of course, he'd never admit that he was shy—he'd rather just keep the solemn, silent, stoic, ominous demeanor than be shy. _

_He brought her hand to his lips and nervously kissed it; she smiled and leaned back against him. She sighed and entwined their fingers together, lightly squeezing his hand. To her distaste, though, he took his hand away and placed it on the top of her head. She wanted to huff out a breath of disappointment, but she kept it in and waited to see what he was going to do._

_His strong hand lifted her hair off of the back of her neck as the other pulled something around her throat. The cool feeling of the jewelry tingled her skin as he clipped it together and let her hair down again. _

_She reached up and touched the little gem and felt it was in the shape of a heart. Diamonds, she could tell by the sharpness of their design, outlined the heart. Smiling and touched by his gift, Kaede twisted half around and looked up into Sasuke's face. _

_"Thank you," she whispered, and he gave a firm nod, reaching up and brushing her face with his thumb. _

_"I..."_



The next morning, Kaede woke with a feeling of disappointment, irritation, and regret that she'd been unable to finish her memory lapse before falling asleep. She hadn't realized it, but there had been one time when Sasuke had said he loved her, and she couldn't even remember they way it sounded.

"Thanks, Mom," she grumbled as she walked out of the little room filled with all her sleeping friends. She passed the kitchen, and as she did, something caught her eye. Intrigued, she backtracked to see.

Her eyes widened, she stepped into the kitchen, and she stared. On the wall, like in every other kitchen, was a calendar, with several events marked on the little squares representing certain dates on certain days of the week. Currently, there were only four squares left unmarked, and Kaede was focusing on one of them.

She had only told one person when that day was, the day she did not like to celebrate for the pain it seemed to bring. Today, if she had it right, and if someone had remembered the flip the calendar over, was her twenty-second birthday.

"Shit," she cursed under her breath, quickly grabbing the marker from the side of the calendar and scribbling the little square black. She did not want anyone to know it was her birthday—she was in enough trouble as it was. Naruto and a few of the others might accept Sasuke and be glad to have him, but they all still looked at her in a funny way. The truth of where she'd gone that night she'd claimed to catch a little boy breaking plates had spread through the underground city like wildfire, she knew. Most likely, if she even dared to go into the gymnasium-style room, she would earn the same looks that her friends gave her.

Someone cleared his or her throat from the doorway, and Kaede jumped, hastily shoving the marker back into place and putting on the most innocent look she could muster up. Leaning against the doorframe, a smug look on his face, was Naruto, still rumpled from a restless night of sleep. His blonde hair stuck up in odd directions, and he ran a restless hand through those yellow, scraggly locks. At the coy smile that made its way across his features, Kaede couldn't help but smile back sheepishly.

"Is there any particular reason you're scribbling out the first of this month?" he queried innocently, his blue eyes mimicking his tone. Kaede shrugged.

"I was…bored?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth she knew that she wasn't fooling Naruto. The Hokage knew her like the back of his hand, more so than she knew herself, probably. It was no use lying. She sighed. "It's my…birthday."

Shocked, Naruto made his way quickly across the kitchen and wrapped her in a loving, brotherly hug. "Happy birthday, Kaede," he said quietly, and she groaned, not pleased that the big-mouthed Hokage knew what day her birthday was. Knowing him, he'd end up throwing a big bash for her or something.

When they'd pulled away, Kaede placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder—which was pretty high up to her—and said, "Please don't tell anyone. I really don't like my birthday. It makes me think of all the ones that I missed with my parents, and the ones I'm probably never going to have with them. It brings back thoughts of being with Orochimaru as a child, and I don't want to have that."

Naruto nodded solemnly. "I understand how you feel." He pulled a chair at the table out and motioned for her to sit, then joined her. "When I was growing up, no one wanted to celebrate my birthday. Everyone pretty much shunned me. Sure, I had a few friends, but when their parents saw me with them, they would drag them away, saying stuff like 'That's the monster' and 'Don't go near him. He's dangerous.' It hurt, a lot. So I refused to acknowledge my birthday every year. Until Iruka-sensei bought me a present one year. It was a brand new weapons pouch with a red ribbon on it. That was the first year anyone had given me anything." Naruto's eyes sparkled as they took on a far-away look. "It was the first year I decided to celebrate my birthday instead of mourn the occasion." He smiled. "October tenth. That was the best day of my life."

Kaede couldn't help but smile, too. Naruto's happiness and joy always had a way of spreading to everyone around him, and it was helping to be happy for once on her birthday. No one, save for Sasuke, had known about her birthday, and it felt good to tell someone else. Naruto would keep her secret, she knew, and was absolutely positive that Sasuke wasn't opening his mouth to say anything. Hell, he barely spoke to her.

"Thanks, Naruto," she said, giving him a quick hug. "But I still don't want you to tell anyone."

"No problem," he replied, and Kaede stood, pushing her chair back in. With another glance over her shoulder and a grateful grin, she left the kitchen to sit out in the hallway. As soon as she'd sank to the ground and begun to relax on the cool dirt, a soft thump came from the room holding the exit into the outside.

Curious, but not too worried, Kaede slowly got to her feet again, much to her displeasure, and tiptoed over to the door. With her ear pressed against the wood, she listened, trying to figure out just what she'd heard. Suddenly, the sound of creaking wood and shifting dirt came through the room, and Kaede flung open the door, fully expecting to see Kimimaro or Kabuto or even Orochimaru himself waiting for her, prepared for the kill.

Instead, she saw a little brown box that could fit into her palm with a little pink ribbon tied to it. Inwardly, she scoffed at the feminine color that definitely suited Sakura more than herself, and picked up the little box. Carefully, she took off the lid and peered inside, gasping in delight.

Sitting on the bottom of the box, coiled carefully with the diamond-studded heart placed on top was an exact replica of the necklace Sasuke had given her so many years ago. She felt tears spring to the corners of her eyes, and didn't have the energy to fight them back. Gently she pulled the necklace out of the box and held it closer to her face so she could see it better.

It definitely looked just like the necklace, but there was something different. She squinted and turned the little heart around, spying something on the back . Barely legible to the unpracticed eye was written a phrase and two sets of initials. It read, The love of one cannot compare to the love of two. U.S. and K.S.

Kaede sniffed as she read the words and clutched the box and necklace in one hand. She knew she had to get out of there before someone saw her, so she dashed to the room where she normally spent the night. No one was in there, save for a still-snoring Rock Lee, but she didn't have to worry about him. When Lee was out, there was no getting him back.

Quickly she pulled the picture of Sasuke out from under her pillow and laid it on her lap. She looked at the box again, suddenly spotting a tag tied to the pink ribbon. It said simply, Happy Birthday, Kaede…Love, U.S.

She felt her heart tingle at the little initials written in his neat handwriting. He had remembered her birthday, and given her a present. For the first time in years she'd received a gift from her one and only love. She looked at the necklace again, and put it around her neck, pushing back her hair to make clipping it easier. Once it was securely on, and she was satisfied with her efforts to stop crying, she tucked it under her shirt and kissed the picture of her Sasuke again.

When she left, she knew that the picture was safely under her pillow with the pink ribbon and the tag with his handwriting on it.

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**Okay, wasn't that a sweet ending? I've been planning that for a long time, and I'm so excited to have finally done it. Again, open for ideas. :D Love the reviews, keep on reviewing, cause it inspires me to do my best work. Oh, and remember the pictures! And I'm going to give you a little teaser...the last chapter just might be a wedding...**

**Luv ya**

**Nicola**


	15. Chapter 14

**Howdy.**

**This chapter was so hard to write. It killed me the way I was forced to end it, but it had to be done. Now, don't go looking at the end just to see why I was upset, read the entire thing.**

**Review, and remember, the pics and new story ideas!**

**Nicola**

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**Chapter Fourteen: Renewal**

As the day wore on, Kaede tried to work up the courage to speak with Miki. They were best friends, what was there to be afraid of? Lots of things, Kaede mused sourly as she assisted Sakura with the dishes. Like Miki's juriken, Neji's over-protectiveness, _his_ juriken, and Miki's temper. Those were all wonderful reasons to be hesitant about making amends with the Hyuga girl, but apparently they weren't good enough for Sakura.

"Oh, for Kami's sake, will you just go and talk to her already?" Sakura said, handing Kaede another plate. "It's not like she's going to bite you or anything!"

"You don't know that," Kaede grumbled in response, soaping up the plate and vigorously attacking the food stains on it. "She could be rabid."

"Uh-huh, sure." Sakura dunked a rather large ramen bowl—obviously belonging to Naruto—into the soapy basin and began scrubbing it with a dishrag. "I mean, there are shots for that stuff, you know. You wouldn't die if she was rabid." When Kaede smirked, Sakura said hurriedly, "Not that she is rabid, or going to bite you, therefore leaving you no reason to put this off any longer. So just go tell her that bringing Sasuke here was a good thing, and that if she doesn't want to think so then it's fine. She can just go live in the Sand."

"Yeah, like she'd ever do that," Kaede scoffed, rinsing her now shiny clean plate and putting it on the dish rack with all the other clean dishes. "You don't understand how stubborn and moody Miki is. She's like…oh, I don't know…Sasuke. Maybe that's why we just kind of clicked."

Sakura was silent, which annoyed Kaede more that the pink haired woman's banter. For the next few minutes, they washed, rinsed, and dried about a quarter of the stack of dishes still towering above their heads. By the time Kaede had done her twenty-eighth plate, her hands were all wrinkly and there were several small cuts from grabbing the sharp end of knives instead of the handles.

Finally, Sakura turned towards Kaede, looking as if she had something so say. Kaede set the knife she was attempting to wash back down in the water to give her friend her full attention.

"If you don't talk to Miki," Sakura began, "then you'll be losing a wonderful friend. I'm going to go find Naruto and hang out with him. You can finish up here."  
As Sakura went to leave, she turned and looked solemnly at Kaede. "You know, sometimes you remind me of Sasuke, too." And she left.

Kaede watched as Sakura disappeared through the door and had to consciously close her mouth. She was like Sasuke? No way! She wasn't quiet, cold, reclusive, obsessed with power, sarcastic, or anything. But as she thought of the conversation she'd just had with Sakura, she sighed.

Okay, she had to admit it. She did kind of act like Sasuke sometimes. But she was a lot kinder and more forgiving that the Uchiha man was. Living with him must have caused some of his little habits and ways to rub off on her, and she figured it was something she'd have to deal with later. Oh, well.

She put her hand back into the sudsy water to grab another plate or utensil or something, and pulled out the knife that she'd dropped in, thankfully picking it up by the handle. As she did so, she heard someone walking down the hallway and pause near the door. Unconcerned, she continued to rinse the knife and place it in the dish rack. That someone near the door walked into the kitchen and plucked a dish off of the stack, dunked it in the water, and, picking up Sakura's discarded rag, began scrubbing. It took a few moments for Kaede to realized that this person assisting her in washing the dishes was in fact the person whom she had claimed to be rabid not twenty minutes ago.

Miki was staring down at the bowl, slowly rubbing the rag in circles, her stance one of hesitance and anxiety. Kaede couldn't help but eye Miki as she, too, slowed her washing and continued to run the rag over the same plate for several minutes.

It wasn't until Kaede was beginning to worry that the plate would begin to disintegrate with the soap and water and scrubbing when Miki dropped the bowl to the floor with a crash that made Kaede cringe. The Hyuga girl flung herself at Kaede and threw her arms around her neck. She was sobbing, and Kaede couldn't think of anything else to do but rub her friend's back.

Unsure of what to say, she continued to try and soothe Miki as best she could for a time that felt like an eternity. Miki's tears were soaking through Kaede's shirt, and her shoulder was beginning to get very, very wet and cold. Finally, with a sniffle and a sheepish chuckle, Miki pulled away, wiping at her face. Grudgingly, Kaede picked up the dishtowel and handed it to her; gratefully Miki blew her nose on the cloth and tossed it into the trashcan.

"What're we gonna use to dry the dishes now?" the Hyuga asked, and Kaede shrugged.

"I dunno, our pants or shirts or something," Kaede replied, and Miki laughed, a weak laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. Kaede felt her heart swell with happiness that she and her friend had made up, but something was bothering her about this little forgiving reunion. It was almost like despite the fact that they had obviously made up, Miki still hadn't really pardoned Kaede's decision.

Quickly the two girls cleaned up the pieces of the shattered bowl and dumped them into the trashcan before returning to finish the dishes. As they scrubbed at the speed of light, Kaede couldn't help but steal a thoughtful glance every once and a while at Miki. The Hyuga was quietly washing each dish she received; yet it was almost too quiet. Normally, Miki would be cutting up and joking around and acting stupid, but she wasn't, and Kaede knew it wasn't the war that had sobered her friend. It had been her decision to bring Sasuke back that had tuned Miki down a few notches.

The village needed an insider, though, she mused. If they could have more than their current benefactors right up close to Orochimaru, which Sasuke was, they'd be home free in no time. Or what felt like no time, anyway. With the Uchiha man on their side, they had someone who had infinite sources and information right at his hands, and who was willing to share it all. Why couldn't Miki see that?

As she dunked her hand back into the basin to feel around for dropped utensils, Miki tossed her rag in and sighed, giving a meek smile. "Well, it's about finished here, and I still have to go help Neji distribute pillows and stuff. See you later." With that, Miki left and Kaede stared after her. What was up with her? She could've waited for her to get finished so she, too, could help.

Shrugging it off, she felt around again and cried out in pain as her finger connected with the sharp blade of a knife. Immediately she withdrew her hand and sucked on the injury, glaring in the basin at the terrible utensil. It seemed to mock her, so she slashed her uninjured hand across the water.

Damn those knives.



That night, Kaede once again lay awake, staring at the ceiling, as those around her snored and shifted in their sleep. She couldn't seem to find that soft, welcoming place of slumber that possessed all of her friends, and, searching for comfort, she pulled her necklace out of the warmth of her shirt and held the little heart in between her fingers. She sighed and closed her eyes, immediately disposing of the idea of trying to think of good memories to lull herself to sleep. Last time, she'd woken in an irritable mood.

But in spite of her determination to not think and just sleep, she found herself remembering the day she and Sasuke had first met.

A smile worked its way across her face as she saw her disgruntled, angry face from that day, and recalled how enraged she was when Sasuke dismissed her as weak. She'd threatened him with kicking his butt, or, as she'd said, "I'll beat the shit out of you faster than you can blink, Uchiha." The thought brought a warm feeling to her chest, and the longing to go back to that time and have everything the way it used to be. It was impossible, she knew, but that didn't stop her from wanting it.

That night in the meadow, staring at the moon, came back with a vengeance. They had sat silently in one another's company for only a few minutes, and Sasuke had spoke to her, literally poured his heart out to her. He'd told her how he saw the moon, how to him it represented the unknown future. She'd mused how they were total opposites on the subject—she thought the moon to be a symbol of the unknown past, like hers had been back then. Nowadays, though, she knew her past, and saw the moon through Sasuke's eyes.

More memories came back of the little moments they had together. Waking up in Sasuke's bed had certainly been a shock, especially considering she'd been wearing one of his old shirts and a pair of his shorts. She had been enraged to find he'd changed her wet and dirty clothes without her consent, but now, she saw it as the only kind act the Uchiha could think up at the time.

Then, the next morning, Sasuke had comforted her, wrapping his arms around her as she cried on the bridge, but ultimately taking it all back and telling her how he didn't want to be on a team with a weak, useless kunoichi. Even today, his words stung and made her blood boil.

Wallowing in her old memories had not put her to sleep this time; instead, she was even more awake than before. She tossed onto her other side, buried her face in her pillow, tried lying on her back, sides, stomach, everything, and finally kicked the blanket off of her. Her newfound insomnia was beginning to become a problem.

Restless and longing to get out, Kaede tiptoed past all her sleeping friends, extra careful to not step on Miki or bump her, afraid that waking her would set off some kind of alarm or something.

She made it through the door, then padded silently down the hallway, her eyes set on the door at the end of it. Just inside that door were the steps that would lead up to the surface, where the moon hovered ominously in the dark sky. Her heart thudded in anticipation as she reached the door, turned the knob, and entered.

Quietly, she shut the door behind her and stared up the staircase. The wooden trap door was still there, guarded by the tree she knew was on top of it. As she climbed the stairs, she made a chakra sign, waiting for the familiar creaking, crawling, rustling sound of the tree moving before pushing the trap door open and pulling herself out into the cool night air.

As easily as if she did this every day, Kaede sealed the door shut and replaced the tree, barely thinking about it. Her gaze locked on the moon, and she began to walk, arms hugging her torso, hair lifting slightly in a breeze. Her eyes bore into the silver crescent in the black night sky, outlined by a scatter of sparkling stars. Back home, this had been her favorite time of all, when no one was out but herself, no lights were on, just the moon illuminating the world.

Thoughts of Konoha brought the sting of tears to her eyes as she realized it had been almost three years since she'd lived there without fear. It was hard, not going home, not being able to visit Ichiraku or the market, or the training fields or the lake, or the hot springs, or hang out at Sakura's house, or have snowball fights even though they were way too old to do so, or spar with Tsunade, or chase Jiraiya out of the girls' locker room, or anything. The thoughts brought a stinging pain to her chest, and she tightened her arms around her, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

She wanted to go home. She wanted this war to be over. She wanted everything to be the way it was supposed to be.

But…wait.

She stopped. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she came to a realization. Maybe this was the way it was supposed to be. Maybe this war was what had been planned all along, maybe the way it was wasn't how it was all supposed to turn out.

_"Sometimes in wars, we fight to protect what's precious to us, even if we don't know the outcome." _

Kakashi had said that, she remembered, a long time ago, after Orochimaru had first tried to attack the village, ending in the Third Hokage's death. All of them had been solemn after those words were spoken, and would never forget them.

They were true, she thought quietly, watching her feet now instead of the moon. She was fighting for the things that were precious to her. Her friends, her love, her village…they were all things she kept close to her heart at all times, a dangerous thing, but also a wonderful thing.

As she walked, not knowing where she was going, her hand reached up and touched the necklace Sasuke had given her. They were both older now, more mature, but still clung to a few child-like tendencies. As always, Sasuke had been too shy—and probably too cautious—to give her a present in person. On every birthday he had sent her something, left it on her pillow, or thrown it through the open door and run off. Okay, admittedly the door one had only happened once, but it still counted.

It was beginning to get later, she noted, but she continued to walk without destination, not really caring where she would end up. If she ended up in the clutches of a few Sound nin, then there would be a few more dead in the middle of the forest. If she made it to the lake, she would stay there, watching the moon's reflection off of the water, the way the ripples made it seem like it was moving, waving at her, winking.

In a few minutes time, that was where she found herself, at the lake where she and Sasuke had sat together a few weeks ago. She settled onto the dewy grass, her knees folded and her arms resting on top of them. Her eyes gazed at the water swaying just in reach. She wanted to jump in, to swim and to feel free again. In the world she was living in, there was no such thing as freedom for those who held strong for Konoha. She sighed, tossing her head to get her hair out of her eyes.

A long time she sat there, in the same position, knees to her chest, just watching the water. Soon she began to feel stiff, and stretched her legs out in front of her, laying on her back and propping her head up with her hands. Her gaze swept over the starry sky, and once again she named the constellations. She made out Pegasus, the Little Dipper, the Big Dipper, Canis Major and Canis Minor, Equueleus, the foal, another one of her favorites, and, finally…

Someone settled next to her, and a deep, velvety, welcome voice said, "Orion. Isn't it beautiful?"

Kaede looked to her left and saw Sasuke sitting there, one leg folded with an arm resting on it, the other stretched out in front of him. His eyes were focused on the sky, his chin tilted upwards, his free hand balancing his weight on the ground behind him. She stared up at him, a smile beginning to make its way across her face.

"Yes, it is," she answered, rolling over to lie on her side. He looked down at her, a smirk of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. She couldn't help it—she blushed. He always had that effect on her when he showed her that special smile of his. He was so handsome, so beautiful—in a manly way, of course. She'd never call him beautiful to his face. He'd mutilate her.

They stared at each other like that for a while, until he lied down, too, his face merely inches from hers. Their noses were almost touching, as he made his way closer, closer, until they kissed.

She fell into the kiss with everything she had, trying to make it last. When they pulled away, it was reluctant on both their parts. Sasuke's black eyes bore into hers, full of feelings he would most likely never be able to voice. She smiled, he smiled back. He pulled her closer to him and held her there, against his chest. She breathed in his smell and wallowed in his warmth.

All she wanted to do was sit and stare at him, be with him for the rest of forever, but she had to open her big, uncontrollable mouth.

"What ever happened to us?"

Confused, Sasuke pulled away and stared down at her, a frown creasing his face. "What do you mean, what happened to us?" he asked suspiciously. "We're fine, aren't we? I mean, we're together."

Kaede immediately regretted her question and just rolled back onto her back, wanting to forget the whole thing. "Never mind, it was a dumb question."

But Sasuke was persistent. "No, it wasn't. What did you mean, Kaede? Aren't we just fine? We're together again, right?"

"Sasuke, there's nothing to worry about. I was just…being stupid. I don't know why I asked that. Just…forget about it, please?"

"Whatever." And he was back to being his old self, distant, cold, and unwelcoming. He sat up and stared forward, refusing to look her in the eye. She sighed heavily and just shook her head, watching the stars twinkle in the sky.

"I remember when I was with Orochimaru as a kid," Kaede began, still gazing at the stars. "He used to take me to this place in the woods in the middle of nowhere, and we'd watch the sunset together. We'd watch all the colors turn into black, and he'd tell me that eventually, life was like a sunset. Every person was a blast of colors from the darkness when they were born, like a sunrise, and we lived our life with sunny moments, bright blue skies, and cloudy days, and in the end, as we faded away, all those colors we were at birth would appear again, then slowly fade into the dark night." She smiled slightly at the tender memory, even though she still hated Orochimaru's guts. "He said that the stars represented the people who went up into the sky after death. It was kind of nice, sitting there with him, and ever since then I've always wanted to be in the sky as a star, twinkling and bringing light to the darkness."

Silence followed her little story. She stole a glance at Sasuke, and saw him searching the sky, his eyes filled with…tears. Quickly she looked back at the stars as if she had never glanced at him. The strong, stoic Uchiha was actually crying.

"I wonder if Dad is up there," Kaede said softly to no one in particular, trying to pinpoint which star her father would probably be. As she did this, she realized that that was the first time she had actually called him Dad instead of Kyoto. A sad, but somehow happy smile quirked her mouth, and she felt the tears building up. She had never had a father figure in her life, other than Sasuke, and it hurt to think that she hadn't made amends with Kyoto.

She spotted a star in the sky that was dim, but somehow stood out more than the others. It was kind of like her father, she thought, swallowing the lump in her throat. He had been a dim little light in her life, but had had the most influence. In ways, he had shaped her to be what she was today. Sure, she resembled her mother in appearance, but habit-wise and personality-wise, she was more like her father.

Both of them had a determination and stubbornness like none other. Only Naruto seemed to come close. They loved to fight, and fight with tactic and skill, hating to lose. They had their moments when they were stoic and unmoving in their opinions, and when they just wouldn't give up. They shared the taste for the spicier ramen, and the distaste for tomatoes.

In some ways, she had shaped her ideal of the right guy off of what her father was, what she could remember of him, anyway. Which was probably why she kept coming back to Sasuke, and refused to give up on him.

"My parents are up there, somewhere, I guess," he said, his voice sounding far off and wondering. "They wouldn't be there, they shouldn't be there." He was whispering now, deep in his thoughts. Kaede stayed silent and let him continue. "My father…and my mother…they should be here, alive. If they were, all this wouldn't be happening. They…they were the most important things in my life."

Unknowingly, Kaede took notice of how he used his parents in the past tense. She knew they were dead and gone, but shouldn't they still have the most influence on him?

"I can't help but wonder what my life would've been like if they were still here, had raised me and not stopped halfway," Sasuke went on in that odd whisper. "Maybe if they had brought Itachi up different, showed him the right way, and not allowed him to get so hell bent on power, then I wouldn't have ruined my life the way I did." Okay, that stung.

"Sasuke, you didn't ruin your life," Kaede said in a low voice, getting to her feet and brushing herself off. "If anything, and I hate to say this, but you ruined mine. I never wanted to become Hokage before you left. I thought I had to prove that I was strong enough to be with you, but you never came back. I'm not blaming you for this war, but I'm blaming you for leaving."

Sasuke said nothing, and she walked away. She jumped into the trees, not wanting to walk slowly. She just wanted to get back to the hideaway and be back with her friends. Her heart held no regrets, just longings. She longed to have never fallen in love, she longed for the war to never have happened, she longed for everything to just stop and rewind. But that was not going to happen, not anytime soon. Not as long as Orochimaru was in control of one of the biggest, strongest villages in the world.

She ran at a rapid pace, trying to get as far away from Sasuke and the lake and their conversation as possible. It was immensely difficult, though, as something was telling her to turn around and go back and apologize. But what would she apologize for? For expressing her feelings and finally getting something off of her chest? That was not going to happen as long as she was in control of her own actions.

Suddenly, she felt as if someone was behind her, and then a hand grabbed her own and pulled her to a stop on a high tree branch. She knew who it was, and reluctantly turned to face him. Sasuke looked down at her, his eyes full of emotion, still watery from his struggling cry.

"Before you go," he said in a husky, thick voice, "I want you to know, I wish you the best in whatever you do, and that I always have. If this is what I think it is, then I just want to tell you that I hope you find what you're looking for, even if that isn't me." She could hear the tears in his voice, and felt her own welling up behind her eyes. Slowly, she lifted her hand to the back of her neck and unclasped the necklace.

She knew that this was the only way to go. It wasn't possible to have a relationship in the middle of the war, on two different sides. She realized and didn't care that he would continue to help Konoha try to gain their village back. She understood that this was where they would stop being together, that this was probably the last time she would see him looking so intimately at her.

Tomorrow, he would be back in the Sound, and she would be back underground, helping her friends and the people, training for the attack that would eventually come. She, too, wished him the best, nothing less than that. She hoped he would come to see that she would never stop loving him, no matter what happened, or who else she fell in love with. He'd always be at the top of her list.

Her eyes strayed to the sky as she placed the heart-shaped necklace into his hand. She saw the stars through blurred eyes as he leaned down to kiss her one last time. She let him, kissing him back with all the goodbyes she dared to say.

As she turned to leave, Sasuke's hand rested on her shoulder again, but she couldn't look at him this time. She was crying too hard.

"I hope you find everything you've ever dreamed of, Kaede," he whispered, "but I wish you'd stay."

Unable to form words through a thick, teary haze, she shook her head and jumped off the tree branch and onto another. This was goodbye, she knew, wiping her tearstained cheeks. Her hand went up to her neck where the tender piece of jewelry had lay only a few moments ago. It was gone now, and so was he.



Sasuke made his way back to what used to be Konoha, the necklace still balled in his hand. He felt a strange, dull sensation in his chest, and he swallowed hard to see if that would stem the feeling. It didn't go away.

His hand rested on his chest, clutching at the thin fabric of his shirt in a tight fist. It wasn't long before he reached the gates, nodded to the guards there, and entered. He knew where he was going to go, and what he was going to do with the necklace Kaede had returned to him.

At the thought, that feeling pulsed with a vengeance, causing him to double over in pain. He panted, straightening with a grimace and took several deep breaths to calm down. What was going on? He had not the faintest idea, and, after running a hand through his hair, he came to the conclusion that whatever this…pain was, Kaede must have felt it after his departure. With a wince, he imagined what it must have done to her, to have to watch him leave, thinking he had every intention of returning.

Maybe the argument with her father had left her distracted and unable to recognize that the ANBU who had come to summon him was not an ANBU at all, but merely a chakra-created shadow clone of sorts. No matter what it was, she'd imagined he was just leaving on a simple mission, to return in a day or so. But he hadn't, and he took full blame for it.

No one had forced him to go. He could have lived out his life in Konoha, with Kaede, revived his clan, been part of the ANBU Black Ops like he'd planned as a child, before his family's death. He could have been happy, been strong enough to defeat his brother with the assistance of his friends, of Naruto, Sakura, Kaede, even Kakashi. Yet he'd chosen his path, and look where it had ended up. He was betraying the man—if you could classify Orochimaru as an actual human being—that had taught him to be strong, that had shown him how to harness his power and become what Itachi couldn't.

He found himself by the fountain in Konoha, the fountain that hadn't filled with water since the war had begun. He stepped up onto the outer rim, slowly letting the necklace fall to its full length. A lump came into his throat, and stubbornly he pushed it back down. He was not going to cry.

Hope a nagging voice in the back of his head, Sasuke gently placed the necklace in the bottom of the fountain, in a spot where it was hidden from any passerby who thought it would be worth a pretty penny. As he left it, turning his back and walking towards the old Kage temple, he wondered if one day, when the village was back to what it was supposed to be, Kaede would find it and think of him.

He smiled, thinking how wonderfully impossible that was. It was something he had to look forward to, he figured, and shoved his hands into his pockets. Maybe one day.

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**I'm sorry, I cried. If any of you have heard Brad Paisley's songs "She's Everything," "I Wish You'd Stay," and "We Danced," then you understand how I put myself in the mood to write these. I listened to "I Wish You'd Stay" the entire time for the whole breakup scence. **

**Sniffle**

**Love ya, read and review! Please!!!!**

**Nicola**


	16. Chapter 15

**Yay, another chapter finished. I'm on such a roll this week. I love this chapter, because, if you look back in the first story, you'll find a subtle hint of something Orochimaru gave Kaede as a child. Don't skip to the end of the chapter, now, because that would just give it all away. Enjoy!**

**Nicola**

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**Chapter Fifteen: Moving Along**

By the time Kaede reached the entrance of the underground hideout and sealed it shut behind her, she had managed to stop crying, but her eyes were red and puffy, and she felt utterly dejected. Never in her life had it hurt so much. She had never experienced a break up before, and she'd hardly imagined it to be this hard.

It was around the time of day when the sun began to rise when she went into the kitchen to wash her face with cold water, hopefully bringing some natural color back to her oddly pale but red and blotchy in a few places, especially around her eyes. But as she walked to the sink, she realized that she wasn't alone.

Miki and Sakura sat at the table, warm cups of tea in their hands, just looking down at the wood. Kaede watched them out of the corner of her eyes as she splashed the cool water on her face and dapped it dry with a towel. She slowly made her way to the table, too, and sat down in between her friends. Sakura was the first one to look up, and her green eyes were filled with sadness. Miki followed, but she looked strong, as if she were trying to be firm and comforting for her obviously upset friend.

Kaede knew she didn't need to tell them what had happened. They were both aware of her nighttime wanderings, and where she most likely went on them. They could tell by the look on her face, the glistening wetness in her eyes, that she and Sasuke had finally ended. Both knew it had been coming, and were prepared for it.

Swallowing another hard lump trying to creep up in her throat, Kaede rested her head on Miki's shoulder and closed her eyes, willing all the pain away. Miki placed a comforting arm around her, cooing soothing words. "It's okay, it'll all be alright. Don't worry, it'll be okay."

She felt Sakura also embrace her, rubbing her back and gently lulling her to sleep with a medical jutsu. Grateful for the slumber that was coming, Kaede groggily reached out a hand and touched Sakura's shoulder. And then, she relaxed, finally drifting off into a deep, well-needed sleep.



With one last glance at the sleeping Kaede, Miki quietly left the room she and her friends all shared and walked down the hall to the only room she figured she could get some privacy—the kitchen. Halfway there, though, she heard Naruto's voice coming from the room and turned on her heel, deciding to skip that idea and head for the meeting "cupboard" as they called it. It was so tiny, that hardly five people could fit in it. But for one, it was perfect.

She went inside, closing the door behind her and sinking to the ground, leaning back against the wall. She rubbed her face with her palms and dashed her fingers through her hair. This was all beginning to get so confusing anymore. These long years trapped in this terrible place with the same people, the people she loved, but still infuriated her at least twice a day. She had no idea how much longer she would last if Rock Lee kept coming to her and vowing to protect her, serve her, yada yada yada…

She smiled, though, at the thought of the last time Lee had said that to her. Neji had appeared out of nowhere and bonked him on the head, succeeding in knocking the exuberant Taijutsu ninja out cold. Neji always seemed to be there whenever she needed him, ready to help, ready to hold her hand and comfort her. Right now, she wished that he were there, holding her and telling her that it was all going to be just fine when she knew that it wasn't.

A sigh escaped her lips and she shook her head. No, Neji wouldn't have time at the moment to sooth her rapidly rushing mind. Over the course of the past few years trapped in the same place together, their relationship had gradually progressed to where they were very close to each other. Close enough to hold hands and speak quietly to one another, to move their little sleeping pads inch by inch gradually until they were sleeping next to each other. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of his warm arm draped over her waist as she slept.

This was probably what Kaede had felt, she mused, when she and Sasuke had been together. Which was why their separation was hurting so bad. Now she understood how Kaede had felt with Sasuke holding her, chin on resting on the top of her hair, arms wrapped around her, trailing kisses lightly down her face until he reached her lips for a truly passionate kiss. This was what it was like to have someone you loved so much, but was so far away.

Even thinking of the hell Kaede must be going through sent a pang through Miki's chest and she tried to push those thoughts out of her mind. But she couldn't. All she could see was Kaede and Sasuke together, suddenly being replaced by herself and Neji. Yet something was different about this picture.

Kaede and Sasuke seemed to move as one, walk as one, speak the other's mind, while she and Neji had a sort of solid, but invisible barrier between them. She recognized this as the barrier Sasuke put up when around anyone other than Naruto, Sakura, or Kaede. Did this mean Neji didn't trust her, didn't want to open up to her?

Slowly the door opened and a stoic-faced Neji walked in, quietly closing it behind him. Miki looked up into those milky white eyes that matched her own and felt her heart beating rapidly. In her chest she felt an odd tightening, swelling sensation that made her squirm in discomfort. This happened every time Neji was in the room, every time his name was mentioned.

As the Hyuga man sat next to her, she vaguely recalled Kaede telling her what it was like to know Sasuke before she had realized her love for him. She had felt as if her chest was knotting like a rope, but swelling like a balloon being filled with water. Was this that feeling? Was this "falling in love"?

They sat there, neither speaking. Miki was unsure why Neji was staying silent, but she knew why she didn't say a word—she was petrified of her voice coming out in a jumble of words, blurting out her true feelings, or sounding like a choked frog. But she didn't have to worry about it, because as soon as these worries were passing through her mind, Neji pulled her into a warm hug.

As if a huge weight had been taken off of her shoulders, she sagged into the embrace and relaxed while he pulled her closer, pressing her against his chest. She brought her knees closer to her body and leaned against him for support. Neji planted a kiss on the top of her head and stroked her black hair with one hand, holding her securely with the other.

She just about melted into the warmth of his arms encircling her, the feeling of being where she was supposed to be as she leaned against his chest. Her heart beat furiously behind her rib cage, and the tightening, swelling sensation wonderfully grew ten times what it had been before.

Finally working up the courage to say something, Miki opened her mouth, but Neji beat her to it.

"Miki," he said in that sadistically beautiful voice of his, "we have been putting this off for too long." Miki felt tears spring to her eyes, and forced them down. "I'm…I mean…will you…erm…"

"Yes, Neji," she said softly, knowing that he was asking her to make their relationship official, even if he was unable to voice the actual words. "I agree, it has been way too long."

Sighing with relief, Neji let go of her only to pull her face to his with his calloused, but somehow gentle hands. His lips pressed against hers in a kiss she knew she would never forget. She kissed him back, relishing the feel of falling in love in her chest, the sensation of his lips on hers.

As they parted, she knew for real how much Kaede loved Sasuke, and how much it was killing her to let him go.

_Aw, hell, _she thought while she and Neji stood, holding hands, and headed out into the hallway, _they'll get back together eventually, even if it takes years of me and Naruto literally shoving them at each other. _She grinned mischievously. _Besides, I got my own guy now!_



Kaede woke up a day and a half later, refreshed and resolved to make whatever was heading her way work. She slowly stood from her sleeping pad, grimacing at her stiff and sore muscles. She hadn't moved in almost two days; how was she supposed to get around?

But she didn't really care. All she needed was to force thoughts of Sasuke out of her mind and get on with her life. She was completely in debt to Sakura for the peaceful slumber she had installed upon her, and wanted to know exactly what had happened during her sleep.

As she made her way down the hallway towards the kitchen—they unofficial meeting room, considering the actual meeting room was entirely too tiny—she tried to work some of the stiffness out of her limbs by rolling her shoulders and bending her knees every few steps. Her joints cracked and groaned in protest, but she reached the kitchen without incident.

What she found there sent a jolt through her.

Neji was leaning against the counter, his arms wrapped around a happy Miki. One hand was around her waist, the other was draped over her shoulder. His chin was resting lightly on the top of her head as he breathed in the scent of her hair. Kaede fought back the shudder of memories threatening to make her collapse and walked inside without batting an eye. Miki greeted her with a jubilant smile and immediately peeled away from Neji to give her a hug.

"You're awake!" she cried happily. "Sakura said you'd be getting up soon!"

Smiling, Kaede hugged her friend back. "Next time I see Sakura, I've got to give her the worlds biggest hug, because that sleep did wonders for me." With an understanding nod, Miki grabbed the hand that Neji was reaching out to her. Kaede wiggled her eyebrows up and down suggestively and the couple blushed.

"Well, I'm going to grab a bit of ramen to eat and head out to talk to Kakashi-sensei for a bit," she said, vaguely wondering why she'd referred to Kakashi in such formal terms again. Nowadays, she and the Jounin were friends, but she guessed that somewhere inside of her, she still saw him as a mentor, maybe even a father figure.

Once a bowl of ramen was safely warming her growling stomach, she looked around for her old sensei. For some reason she felt the urge to speak to him. About what, she had no idea, but it apparently had some importance or she would've have felt the need to. She found him in the medical wing, getting one of his last wounds healed by Tsunade, who smiled and moved away when she came in.

Pulling up a chair and sitting down, Kaede offered a small smile to her sensei. "Hey there."

"Hi," Kakashi said pleasantly, appearing none the worse for wear. Kaede knew, though, how much pain he must have been going through these past weeks, and she felt horribly guilty for not visiting him more often.

"How are you doing?" She merely asked that as a formality, and Kakashi studied her with an experience eye. She wanted to squirm under his gaze but sat still.

As always, Kakashi seemed to see right through her forced cheerfulness and sat up in bed, not wincing but clearly wanting to. Tsunade looked disapprovingly over her shoulder, but did not say a word. Kaede watched Kakashi, knowing that he was thinking up a good comment to bring up the subject. Honestly, she was a little disappointed with his straightforward-ness.

"When did you two break it off?"

Of course. She had always been an open book to those who knew her; she hated that her eyes betrayed her every single time. Sheepishly, she looked down, but Kakashi's hand tilted her chin back up, forcing her to look at him.

Sighing, she grudgingly answered. "It was getting too difficult. If anyone saw us together, we would both be dead. His loyalties lie with Orochimaru, and mine with Konoha. It would never have worked, Kakashi-sensei. You know that."

Kakashi was silent for a long time, and Kaede had to fight back the urge to get up and leave. She had a feeling that this conversation was heading down a road she did not want to travel on again, and it would end in another crash and burn episode.

"When Sasuke was here to speak about his plan," Kakashi began, and Kaede started to get up. Unconsciously, without even realizing she had, she'd picked up another one of Sasuke's bad habits: never sitting down long enough to listen to a lecture.

But she didn't get to go very far. Thin, glinting strings pulled her back down into her chair, and she glared at Kakashi, who was holding the ends in between his fingers.

"You will listen," he said in a voice she'd never heard him use, "and you will think about what I'm going to say." He waited for her nod before going on. "As I was saying, when Sasuke was here telling you all about the plan, he came to visit me before he left. I was honestly shocked to see that he still held some compassion for his old teacher, but I patiently heard him out.

"We talked for a long time. He told me that he regretted ever leaving the village, ever seeking power and hurting all the ones he cared about. He said how much he hurt knowing that he had hurt Naruto, Sakura, and especially you. I could do nothing but listen as he poured his heart out. He talked about how much he loved you, how much he was going to mourn when your relationship was over. He told me that he was not going to stop you when you decided to end it all. He knew this was coming, Kaede."

Unable to speak, Kaede just looked down at her hands in her lap. Kakashi released the string and her binds released her. But she still didn't move.

"What am I going to do?" she whispered.

As Kakashi spoke, he never looked, or sounded, more sure of anything. "Your official relationship may have been broken, but the attachment you two have will never be severed. When the time is right, go back to him."

When Kaede left the medical room a few minutes later, headed for the kitchen again in hopes of finding solitude and maybe some chocolate or cookie dough ice cream, she felt more torn than she ever had in her life. In most ways, not being with Sasuke was a wonderful thing, especially for the fate of her village. Without her and his relationship in the way, both would be able to concentrate solely on the mission and the plans to get back the village. But in others, not being with Sasuke was killing her. Kakashi had just told her what might be the most important thing in her life—Sasuke loved her. She had known it all along, but to hear it from one of the people who knew her and Sasuke best was just…

Maybe she needed to find someone else, to get over him. But she knew that was impossible, and her efforts would be futile. No matter how long she lived, she would never love anyone else in the way she loved Sasuke. If she wasn't meant to be with Sasuke, then she would follow everything the greater being, destiny, _whatever,_ had in store for her.

She could still hear his voice, telling her that he wanted her to stay, but knowing that there was no way he could make her. She heard him saying how much he wished her to have the best, whatever she was looking for in life. Only…he truly did want that to be him.

Finally in the kitchen, Kaede sat down at the table and ran a hand through her messy brown hair. She really wanted a brush and a hair tie, but she didn't have one, so her fingers would have to do. As she combed her hair as best she could, she remembered the day Sasuke finally braved up enough to admit how he felt, and that he wanted their relationship to be official. He had been unable to voice the actual words, like most guys, and she had answered with a simple "yes" and a kiss.

She'd remembered it as a kiss that had "sealed their relationship." How ironic, she thought, that at the beginning of their closeness, they had kissed, and at the end, they had also kissed. Except…the first time had been a lot happier and satisfying one, while now, she only wanted to take their last kiss back.

Someone knocked lightly on the doorframe and Kaede turned her head to see who it was. With a smile, Sakura came in, a hairbrush and a strip of brown leather in her hand. Kaede couldn't help but chuckle weakly; the kunoichi had a way of knowing exactly what her friends needed.

Sakura moved behind Kaede and lifted her hair over the back of the chair, allowing easier access to all the knots and such. As she gently and carefully brushed out the messy brown mass of hair, Kaede thought how wonderful her pink haired friend was. Sakura had really been her first companion after returning to Konoha without memory, waking up in a hospital room, and being taken off my some strange man with gray hair and a little orange book he seemed obsessed about.

A smile wavered across her face as Sakura skillfully worked her hair into a French braid. Kaede was relieved to have her hair out of her eyes; in a neat little do that looked casual and somehow sophisticated. Tying off the end of the braid with the little leather strip, Sakura patted Kaede's shoulder and sat down next to her.

"Thanks, Sakura," Kaede said, reached over and hugging the other woman. Sakura gladly hugged her back.

"No problem, glad to. Besides, Naruto was beginning to compare you to a hedgehog that had been in bed for two days." Both laughed, and it felt wonderful. It was almost like for that one moment of giggles Kaede could forget about her break up with Sasuke. She smiled and took Sakura's hands in hers.

"Hey, do you want to do something today?" she asked, shrugging one shoulder. "I mean, there isn't much we can do, but we can rustle up some of the kids and organize a few games for them to play."

"That's a great idea, Kaede!" Sakura said excitedly, standing up and towing Kaede with her. "We could have a game of 'Hokage Says'…."

"With Naruto leading it!"  
"Yeah!" They giggled again. "And a few of those fun little trust games, like the Human Table, and the one where you have to balance the needles on top of each other!"

"And we could have something, like, charades, or those fun icebreakers and stuff," Kaede added, getting more and more excited at the prospect of such a great project. It would be great for the kids, and help take her mind and theirs off all the stuff going on. "Let's go round up everyone else!"



"Alright, everyone!" Naruto announced jubilantly to the crowd of giggling and squirming kids. "We're going to have stations, and break you all up into groups of six. At each station, there will be a different game for you to play. There are nine stations. Afterwards, when everyone has had a turn at every station, we'll be handing out a wonderful lunch and awards!"

Cheers erupted from all the children, and Kaede and Sakura couldn't help but smile at each other. Looking at all the little happy, glowing faces of the kids and the sad but glad expressions on the parents, it was hard not to share similar feelings. It was great to distract all the younger ones from the disappointments of the war and stuff, and, in an effort to include older kids, those over the age of eleven were allowed to help out with the stations and organizing the participants into groups.

Nine of those older children moved out and began separating all the younger kids into the their groups of six—three girls, three boys, if they had that many. If not, it didn't really matter. The Jounin—two Sannin-level, and one Hokage—moved off to their stations. Sakura and Kaede took their places at their particular station: The Human Knot. Their groups would hold hands with someone other than the person next to them, and could not hold hands with the same person, resulting in the formation of a big knot of arms and hands, all entwined together. They'd have to find a way to untie it, resulting in a whole bunch of giggles and odd moves.

Naruto, of course, was at Hokage Says, while Rock Lee stayed at the Human Table, which was just what it sounded like. Four people formed a human table and tried to hold it as long as possible. Neji was in charge of the needle balancing station—and parents need not worry. The needles were made of plastic, and pretty big, leaving no room for any injury. Miki was at the charades station, one that would probably be difficult for her. Since the leaders of the stations—along with the older kids—were supposed to participate, too, Miki was going to have a hard time keeping her mouth shut when it was her turn to act out what the little slip of paper told her to.

Hinata was leading the apple necking, Shikamaru the Alphabet game, Kakashi the Rhyme Game, and Tsunade and Shizune were working the Egg on a Spoon area.

Kaede and Sakura smiled at their first group, made up of six shy-looking little kids. The youngest looked to be six, the oldest about eight. Good, they'd varied the ages. Sakura and Kaede stared up by taking each other by the hand. They encouraged the other kids to do so, too, and soon all of them were tangled in a huge knot. Laughter coursed through the room from their little group, joining that of all the other stations.

As they wriggled and twisted and ducked and stepped, Kaede and Sakura shot secret smiles at each other. This really was a great thing, letting all the kids have a day full of fun and relaxation. Today, there would be no reason for them to worry about the war and about missing or dead relatives and friends. There was no reason for bad memories to haunt them like every other day. They could just have a good time and play with their friends.

And Kaede was having a ball, too. Watching all those faces light up just made her feel all warm and tingly inside, and thoughts of Sasuke were pushed to the back of her mind. Sakura saw this happening in her friend, and smiled knowingly.

While the day wore on, several odd, funny, and exciting things happened.

During Hokage Says, Naruto was down to the last little girl in his current group. That little girl held off on Hokage Says for fifteen minutes against Naruto, who was throwing tricks left and right, trying to confuse her. But she kept on going until Naruto just held up his hand and said, "Alright, I'm through, you win!" By that time, everyone else had gathered around to watch.

When it had been Miki's turn to try to perform a charade, she'd drawn the slip of paper that read, "Orochimaru," ironically enough. In an attempt to act out the evil man, she'd hissed and stuck out her tongue and crept towards the kids, laughing maniacally. They had merely stared at her in confusion, the older ones looking at her like she was the dumbest thing on the planet. Kaede was able to see the frustration building up in her friend, and stood back to watch.

Again, Miki lunged at the kids, who didn't move a muscle. One even stuck his tongue out at her! She touched her neck where the curse mark would be, said something along the lines of, "It's hopeless, my child," and even mentioned claimed that "Sarutobi sensei was a old fool who had no strength to him."

Still, though, the children watched her with now dubious and bored expressions, and she finally flung herself to the ground in agony and wailed, "What is wrong with you people? Don't you know who I am?!"

And one little girl yelled out, "Orochimaru!"

Miki then went limp with the air of someone giving up and sacrificing themselves to the will of the higher power, in this case, the annoying little children. As a result, she did not hear the battle cry of the older boy, and was therefore not expecting the pileup of children suddenly barreling down on her.

Kaede smiled at the event that had occurred not too long ago as she stood in front of the crowd of little kids along with all the others who had assisted in the makeshift "field day" of sorts. It was time to give out the awards.

Naruto was in the middle, smiling down at the dozens of children with that goofy, fox-like grin he always had. Kaede couldn't help but admire how much he loved the children of the village. She, too, had enjoyed the company of the little kids in her reign as Hokage, but she hadn't been able to relate to them in the way Naruto could. Once again her chest tightened at the reminder of her inability to suit the position of Hokage very well. She quickly pushed the thought to the back of her mind and focused on the awards.

"Okay," Naruto was saying, rifling through a stack of unorganized papers. He withdrew several sheets and straightened them. "The awards for the quickest Human Knot untying goes to…Team Four!" The small crowd cheered as those who were in Team Four bounded up to Naruto and received their certificates. As soon as they'd sat back down, Naruto continued. "The award for best teamwork goes to…"

For over an hour this went on, with each team receiving some kind of award, and individual certificates being handed out. Most of the parents' faces were proud, some were sad, but happy, and Kaede had to fight back tears as she heard one child exclaim, "Mama, mama look! I got a cerfificate! Look look! I've never got one before!" A few moments later, she heard that little boy's mother say, "Yes, honey, it's beautiful. I'm sure your father would have been proud."

It struck her then like the flat side of a sledgehammer how much these kids were affected by the war. Their families had been killed, friends had dashed off to battle, and parents had never returned. Children were left without fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, friends…it was heart-wrenching to think about.

But seeing all of those bright, smiling little faces made Kaede feel proud about bringing a small piece of light to this underground haven they were all living in.

Soon, all the awards had been given out, and Kaede left the room with Miki and Sakura. Naruto wasn't far behind, and the four of them made themselves comfortable in their room. Kaede leaned against the wall in between Sakura and Miki. The pink-haired kunoichi to her right was holding hands with the blonde Hokage, and Kaede smiled to herself. It brought a sense of home and comfort to see Naruto and Sakura snuggling and looking at each other with the same goo-goo eyes she knew she gave Sasuke—used to give Sasuke, she meant.

She bit into her lip to keep from crying as Neji walked in and took his place next to Miki. She was beginning to feel like a fifth, unwelcome wheel, and it stung. She watched envyingly while Neji let Miki lean against his shoulder, holding her in a way similar to the way Sasuke held Kaede. Her stomach began churning and she stood, wavering slightly on unsteady legs.

"Are you alright?" Naruto asked, immediately getting up and steadying her. His blue eyes were filled with concern as he tried to convince her to sit back down. "You're tired, and you've been through a lot lately. Just sit and rest, Kaede. Come on, sit down and rest a bit."

"No, I'm fine," she answered stubbornly, shaking her head and tearing herself from Naruto's grasp. "I'm just going to get some water, okay?"

And she stumbled to the door, feeling woozier than ever, barely making through. Her clumsily moving feet carried her down the hallway in a zigzagging pattern, into the kitchen, where she just about collapsed on the sink. She turned the tap and stuck her head under the faucet, letting the cool water flow into her mouth and over her face. She swallowed greedily; relishing the relaxing feel quenching her thirst was giving her. Her head began to clear and she sighed, turning off the water and sagging against the edge of the sink. Oh, Kami, this was terrible.

Just as she was feeling better and able to stand on her own two feet, a sharp sting shot through the left side of her neck. Her hand flew up to touch the spot, and she felt a bruise-like texture on three distinctly shaped spots close together. The stinging became almost unbearable, and she fell to the floor, crying out in pain. She writhed and curled up in as tight of a ball as she dared to. Her entire body ached, lighting hot needles of agony coursing through her every particle, every nerve.

She loosed a banshee scream, the bitterness of the mark on her neck driving her senses wild. Black splotches appeared before her eyes, and as the darkness began closing in, she spitefully wondered why she had never held more concern for the mark Orochimaru had given her as a child.

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**How's that for an ending? I wanted to do something for the kids, and to have something that would take Kaede's mind momentarily off Sasuke and her breaking up. Don't worry, there'll be more excitement to come! I'm hoping to reach twenty chapters with this story, so your review are so much encouragement!**

**And if anyone knows someone who could draw pictures of the characters in here, like Kaede and Miki, please let me know, because I have no artistical talent and I'd really like a picure of Kaede and Sasuke together, and Miki and Neji together. thanks!**

**Review! Luv ya!**

**Nicola**


	17. Chapter 16

**I'm so proud of myself with this chapter. I think I did rather well, and in a short amount of time, too. :D I hope that you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, considering that I should be asleep, but was writing instead, lol. Oh, well. Enjoy!**

**Nicola**

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**Chapter Seventeen: Unwanted Memories**

_Kaede strode alongside the white-faced man, hands clasped behind her back, chin tilted upwards, allowing her to have a better view of the sky. With Orochimaru at her side, she felt calm and serene, but her senses were on a haywire. Every little rustle of grass, every twitter of a bird settling in for the sunset she heard. Each slight movement of a mouse or butterfly she saw. And she saw Orochimaru watching this with satisfaction. _

_At eleven, she was a rather skilled ninja, up to an advanced Chunin level, according to Kabuto, Kimimaro and Orochimaru's reasoning. She had no inkling about what they were up to, what they had done, who they were. All she knew was that they were the only family she had, her sensei and sparring partners. _

_She and Orochimaru made their way to the old cabin at which they always watched the sunset. It had turned into a habit with them, sitting on the cabin's roof and gazing at the colors created by the setting sun mingling with the rising moon and stars. The sight was always beautiful, but somehow always different. The way the colors were, where they were placed, the bare imprint of the stars you could hardly see…they all changed each and every day. _

_As they both leapt onto the roof, Kaede allowed herself a sneaky glance in Orochimaru's direction. The snake man had barely changed in all the time she'd known him. From the time he'd taken her as a six-year-old under his wing to sitting with him now on the rooftop of an old cabin, his demeanor, appearance, attitude hadn't changed a bit. Sure, he looked a bit older, but not very, and he had gotten a bit more chakra to add to his already large supply, but he was still the same man who had offered her a wonderful life and the strength she needed to be a great ninja._

_Smiling, she leaned against Orochimaru's shoulder, ignoring the strange, alerting twinge in the pit of her stomach. It always occurred whenever she made contact with Orochimaru. It had always been there, but so had he, and he'd never done any harm to her. _

…Kaede felt herself being lifted into the air by a strong pair of arms and the jaunty, urgent step of whomever those arms belonged to. Vaguely she heard several yelling, concerned voices, felt warm hands moving over her chest. She knew whose hands they were, who was carrying her, and who was yelling, but she couldn't seem to place them. All she knew was that they were friends, people who were going to help her.

She felt herself drifting off into odd memories, locked away in a part of her mind that she didn't wanted opened. She tried in vain to stop it, mumbling an incoherent "no," physically trying to prevent that door unlocking. But it wasn't going to happen….

_Kaede slowly chewed on her breakfast—toast and butter—without vigor, her eyes never leaving Orochimaru's back. He was standing facing away from her, speaking in low tones to Kabuto. The four-eyed ninja pushed his glasses back up onto his nose and a small smirk titled one corner of his mouth. As if she wouldn't see it._

_She was nearing her twelfth birthday, something she refused to let anyone know. She hated celebrating her birthday, because each one meant that she was a year closer to being asked to serve Orochimaru for life, and she was having doubts about it. _

_For as long as she'd known Orochimaru, she'd felt a strange, unwelcome twinge in her stomach every time she physically touched him. It didn't happen unless their hands bumped, she leaned on his shoulder, he hit her in a sparring match, whatever. As long as they touched. _

_Lately, though, it had been getting worse. _

_Orochimaru and Kabuto normally had their quiet little conversations every once an a while, maybe once a week, maybe once a month. And Kaede had always politely acted as if she weren't hearing a word they said, which she wasn't, because she hadn't cared about their talks. Now, though, they had been getting longer, more frequent, and somehow more involving her. _

_It wasn't really as if they were speaking her, but more like the subtle glances in her direction, small gestures, little facial hints that their conversation was about her. It was odd, too, because now, instead of talking in normal voices, they spoke in whispers, which really irked her. _

_Another thing, too, that was bothering her was that insistent twinge in the pit of her stomach._

_Usually, it only happened when she and Orochimaru made contact with one another, but recently, it had begun to start up again whenever Orochimaru came into the room, or when she heard his voice, even if he was far off, and it really became annoying when they touched. What was once a small, slightly irritation twinge was becoming a pain that nearly doubled her over. _

_She should trust her gut feeling, but she couldn't. Orochimaru had given her everything, trained her under his careful, experienced supervision, and taught her jutsu that only he and one other person knew. She should be grateful. _

_But she wasn't. She was beginning to think that Orochimaru wasn't the kind man he acted like when around her. She was starting to see his true colors, and they weren't pretty._

…Her head swirling relentlessly, neck throbbing, Kaede was set down on a bed, and she moaned, still not completely conscious but awake enough to realize where she was and who was around her.

Someone was running a hand over her shoulder and up to the mark on her neck. She knew the collar of her shirt had been cut to further reveal the bruise causing her so much pain, and was relieved when she heard her sensei's voice. It was vague and far away, but she heard it.

"We'll have to seal this," he was saying softly, and she stirred slightly at the words. She didn't want to seal it away; she wanted it to stay, she wanted to figure out what the heck was starting it up again when it hadn't bothered her in years, not since she'd received it.

Oh, Kami. The darkness of those memories was coming back; she didn't want to go back and live through it again. No, please…

_Now twelve, Kaede was sitting with Orochimaru in a quiet room of their strange home. She was supposed to be focusing her chakra and working on storing it up, but she couldn't concentrate. Whenever she knew Orochimaru wasn't looking, she would steal a glance at him, wondering why he was having her perform such a simple exercise that she already had down pat. She didn't need to focus and meditate to store up chakra; she could do that in her sleep for Kami's sake! _

_She was still getting those weird feelings about being around Orochimaru, and at the moment, the pain in her stomach was nearly crippling. She hoped that it didn't show on her face, for Orochimaru would ask what was wrong and send her to Kabuto for healing, which wouldn't work, of course. She didn't want that to happen. Knowing Kabuto he'd probably get all flustered and upset and say she was faking it._

_Orochimaru turned from having his back to her and a strange, creepy grin made its way across her face. Kaede fought back the chill threatening to crawl up her spine and stared him straight in the eyes._

_"Have you been focusing your chakra?" he asked, taking a step closer to her and leaning down so they were at eye level. When she nodded, he chuckled lightly and his grin widened. "Good, good." _

_And then, before she knew it, his head lashed out, his neck extending from his body towards hers. Frightened, she jumped out of her chair and gasped, wide-eyed, but she was a little too late. Those horrible fangs of his sank into her neck, piercing the skin and drawing blood. She felt pain like she had never experienced before in her life, and opened her mouth with a groan. _

_When Orochimaru finally released her, she fell to the ground, twitching and writhing in agony, feeling a strange bruise-like spot forming on her neck. She moaned and groaned with pain, clutching her neck where he'd bitten her. Why would he do this? Was this what her gut feeling had been trying to tell her? Oh, Kami, it was as if she were dying!_

_And then, all went black, a welcome, comforting, peaceful black._

…With a loud gasp, Kaede sat straight up, breathing heavily, her eyes wide and her face covered in sweat. She looked wildly around her, her hand flying up to touch the mark on her neck, her heart thudding hard against her rib cage. Naruto was to her left, watching with concerned and shocked eyes. Apparently they hadn't expected her to wake up so soon.

A soothing hand landed on Kaede's shoulder, and she turned to look who it belonged to. It was Sakura, trying to comfort her friend into lying back down. Kaede took in Sakura's worried face and relaxed, but her hand never left her neck.

It was then that she noticed all of the other people around her. Kakashi was leaning lightly on his crutch at the end of her bed, Miki was standing just behind Sakura with Neji; Tsunade was checking the charts, her brow furrowed with worry, and, just walking into the room, was Sasuke, his aloofness seeming to spread directly to her. At the sense and feel of his presence, she was soothed and sank into the pillows placed behind her, closing her eyes momentarily before removing her hand from her neck and allowing it to lay by her side.

Sasuke, curious as to what was going on, walked over next to Naruto and paused, staring down at the woman lying in the bed before speaking.

"What happened?" were his only two words, and it was all that Naruto needed before responding.

"We found her collapsed in the kitchen after hearing her screams of pain," he said, a frown marring his handsome features. "As soon as we figured out what was going on with her, we took her into the medical room and let Tsunade and Sakura calm her down." With a sigh, he looked down at his hands clutching the side railing of the bed. Kaede followed his gaze, shocked to see that his knuckles were white with the tightness of his grip. "All along, none of us ever knew. And, according to Tsunade, neither did she, because it was something she didn't want to remember. She has the curse seal, Sasuke, like you do."

Sasuke didn't move, but Kaede was able to see the slight tightening of his jaw and the way he clenched his fists. He, too, had never seen the mark on her neck, having never expected her to have one. He knew about her being with Orochimaru as a child, but certainly the snake Sannin wouldn't give a mere child the power of the curse seal.

Kaede swallowed hard and forced herself to look away from Sasuke. They had ended it, she reminded herself firmly and instead chose to smile up at Miki and Sakura. Both girls were frightened and worrisome, obviously needed some consolation. She needed a little comfort, too, but they offered none.

"We think it activated because of three things: Orochimaru's presence being near her," Kakashi spoke up suddenly, his one eye half-closed but his stature showing he was alert and thinking, "a recent traumatic event," Kaede and Sasuke both visibly winced at this, "or Orochimaru is suspicious or in a really foul mood and is trying to let us know."

Silently Kaede begged whatever God there was to let the last one be true. She would rather not have everyone know her curse seal had activated because of her breakup with Sasuke, and it would be terrible if Orochimaru were getting closer. She shuddered at the very thought of him attacking what was left of the people in her village.

Turning on his heel, Sasuke strode out of the medical room without another word. Everyone stared after him except for Kaede and Kakashi, who were exchanging rather nasty looks between the two of them. Her lip curling in a snarl, Kaede let her old sensei know just how peeved she was with his insistence on adding that little "recent traumatic experience" bit. He responded by raising his one eyebrow very subtly and tilting his chin up in something of a challenge.

Not in the mood to fight it out with Kakashi, Kaede settled back onto her pillows again, crossing her arms over her chest and putting on her pouting, defeated face. This day was just not going her way.



"I'm fine, Tsunade-sama, just let me out, please," Kaede begged for the millionth time. It was the day after her little episode in the kitchen involving her curse seal, and ever since waking up that morning, she'd been arguing with Tsunade to let her out of this damned bed for hours!

The former Hokage shook her head firmly. "No, I'm not done with all of your tests yet. I want to scan the area around that curse seal and see what nerves set it off. If I can pinpoint those, I might be able to find out what made it activate."

"You know as well as I do that it's probably Orochimaru playing one of his sick-minded little games," Kaede said sourly, wrinkling her nose at the very thought. That old jerk needed a knock on the head to send him back to reality. "I could be out of here and helping out everyone else! Besides, we don't even have a scan machine down here!"  
"Kaede!" Tsunade said sternly. Kaede looked up at the older woman without hesitation, her face as aloof and stoic as Sasuke's. With a heavy sigh, Tsunade pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down. "You need to be quiet and let me finish my work here, okay? I know the limit of resources we have, and I can understand how frustrating it is for such an active person to be cooped up in this underground hideout, much less this little bed. But you have to just put up with it until this war blows over and Orochimaru's dumb Sound village is put in its place. Okay?"  
Reluctantly, Kaede nodded, but that did not cease the insults and complaints whirring through her head. _Stupid, mean, big-breasted witch. Won't let me out of here when we don't have anything to test with. Besides, I know I'm fine. Humph. I don't need her telling me that. _

"And don't think nasty things, either, Kaede," Tsunade said as she moved back across the room to tend to another sick patient. She turned and held up a threatening fist. "You know what I'm capable of when someone irritates me."

Knowing full well that Tsunade wouldn't try anything as long as they were underground, but still slightly frightened at the prospect of being taken above ground to have the silly string beaten out of her, Kaede blocked even those bad thoughts that Tsunade seemed to hear.

Instead of complaining, she decided to muse over the memories that had plagued her during her episode.

Remembering that walk with Orochimaru—one of many that had happened over the years—had apparently started a chain of memories. Now, as she recalled that little twinge in her stomach, she mentally kicked herself for not seeing it for what it was. A warning, a warning that Orochimaru was up to no good. Soon the twinge had become pain, and eventually crippling pain the day Orochimaru gave her the mark on her neck. She should've listened to that feeling, listening to her instincts and ran off as soon as the chance opened up.

But she hadn't, and now she was living with the result—a curse seal that was causing her pain for the first time since the age of twelve. And she wasn't content with the explanations given to her. She had a bad feeling that Orochimaru was up to something else, and if he was, it would ruin their entire plan. They were still based off letting the snake Sannin get comfortable in his position and let his guard down. Yet since the attack on their underground hideout, she knew he was on his toes and not going to let anything stand in the way of his dream.

Sadly, though, she thought with bitter happiness, it wasn't going to turn out the way he wanted. Konoha was going to reign again, despite all of Orochimaru's efforts to keep it under wraps. She would personally see to it.

The door leading out into the hallway opened and Naruto came through, awkwardly shutting it behind him and walking over to her bed. She curiously wondered why he had one hand behind his back until he pulled a bouquet of handpicked flowers. He held the little bouquet out to her, and she gladly took it, putting the blooms up to her nose and breathing in their sweet scent. She hid her blush with the flowers, ashamed of her stupid reaction. Inside, though, her stomach was churning as she thought how much more of an invalid this made her feel.

"Thanks, Naruto," she said genuinely, placing the bouquet in the glass of water on her makeshift bedside table—it was a box with a board on top of it. Naruto grinned ear to ear, blushing discretely himself.

"You're welcome," he replied modestly, rubbing the back of his head. She couldn't help but grin; he was so sheepish!

"They're wonderful. I can't believe you went out and picked them for me," she said softly, staring at the flowers. She saw Naruto stir slightly out of the corner of her eye and turned her attention back to him. "What's the matter?"

"Well…" He was hesitating, this wasn't a good sign. This was Naruto she was speaking to, scream-and-jump-in-and-get-it-done-and-over-with Naruto! Why was he hesitating?! _Oi, calm down, idiot. You're getting paranoid._

Yes, she was just being paranoid about the whole thing. She took a shuddering breath and waited for Naruto to continue talking.

"Sasukewantstodropthewholeplanbecausehe'safraidyou'llgethurt," Naruto said in such a rush that Kaede had to actual repeat his words to herself and sound them out before she understood. When she'd deciphered his mumble-jumble, her eyes widened to twice the size of a half-dollar and she grabbed Naruto by the collar of his shirt.

"What did you say?" she practically growled at him, causing Tsunade and the man in the bed next to her to look over curiously. Well, the man was curious, Tsunade just looked guilty. "Did you just say that Sasuke is going to quit with the plan because he doesn't want me to get hurt?" Naruto nodded hurriedly, obviously frightened, and Kaede shoved him back onto the chair, shaking her head and staring at the ceiling. "Oh, my Kami. He did not. He did not!"

Completely disregarding Tsunade's angry comments, Kaede threw the covers off of her, stood up from the bed, and stalked towards the door, fully intending to go find that damn Uchiha man and throttle him until he was blue! She didn't care if he left the village because he said he still cared for it. She didn't care that their relationship was off and that there was nothing left for them to stand on, but what really struck her last nerve was his ignorance to the village he claimed the care for!

She heard Tsunade call after her, Naruto stand up and dash after her, yelling for her to wait for a minute, but she ignored them. There was no way in hell on earth she was going to let Sasuke ruin Konoha's last chance at getting its home back. What she ever saw in that selfish, disgusting, Orochimaru-loving bast—

"Kaede!" Naruto hollered, finally reaching her and grabbing onto her shoulder. She tried to wrench out of his grasp, found she couldn't, and proceeded to drag him down the hallway with her. He dug in his heels, grappling for some sort of traction, and found in, hauling her to a stop.

She swung on him, her face more vicious than his when his demon chakra was activated. With her teeth bared, her eyes literally flaming, and her brow furrowed into and unrecognizable expression, she was a tremendous sight. Naruto's courage wavered for a moment before he grabbed her by both shoulders and shook her. Hard.

Her teeth clacked together and her head jerked back and forth until Naruto stopped shaking her and held her in place. That was definitely unnecessary, and definitely not going to work, either. She was still going to kill Sasuke.

"You need to settle down and get a hold of yourself," he said reasonably, his blue eyes pleadingly boring into her hazel ones. "Get a grip, Kaede. You know he's only doing this to protect you. He doesn't want Orochimaru to hurt you in any way." He was silent for a moment, letting his words sink in. "It's what I would do."

She heard Naruto, understood him, and knew where he was coming from, but she did not need protecting. If anything, she was going to protect everyone else! She pulled away from Naruto, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and smiling sheepishly. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, she said, "You're right, Naruto. I'm going to go get some rest and then think about what else we can do."

Apparently satisfied, Naruto pulled her in a hug, and she realized something as she hugged him back. She was headed the wrong way. Sasuke wasn't dumb enough to stick around near all the other citizens of Konoha. He'd go to the kitchen with the Jounin who accepted him, or to the meeting room, or even outside.

Naruto let go, and so did she, that smile still on her face. She began walking towards the medical room again, and as soon as she reached it, knowing Naruto was watching with a satisfied grin, she took off at a flat out run.

Echoing down the hall, Naruto's voice followed her as she dashed into the kitchen momentarily, saw no Sasuke, and out again. Her rapidly moving feet carried her to the meeting room and, seeing the door was slightly ajar, she slammed it open to reveal the stony-faced Sasuke leaning against the far wall, which wasn't very far away.

Sasuke's widened black eyes revealed how surprised and slightly afraid he was to see her rushing at him like an angry wild cat. She grabbed him by the throat, and, using strength she didn't know she had, she shoved him up against the wall he was leaning on, her fingers tightening along his neck. He resisted, kicking and grabbing onto her wrists, but she wouldn't let him down until he had heard what she had to say.

"You don't get it, do you, Uchiha?" she snarled, her face not even inches from his. "I don't need you to protect me anymore. I can do just fine on my own. You don't need to just quit this damn plan we had. You can't just throw it away. Konoha needs this plan to work, you hear me? You hear me?! We need this plan!! We need to get our village back, and kick Orochimaru out! If you help us in this, I can assure you that your place in Konoha will be restored, but if you chicken out, you'll be thrown out with all the rest of the Sound trash!"

With that, she released her chokehold on his throat and he fell to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. Adrenaline pumped through her veins after finally telling Uchiha Sasuke just how she felt. She had finally gotten him in her advantage, taken him by surprise and threatened him with his life.

Naruto skidded to a stop in front of the door, startled by what he saw. Sasuke regaining his breath on the floor, Kaede breathing heavily over him with her fists clenched tightly at her sides.

She had had him at her mercy, her fingers tight around his throat. She could have killed him—she had no idea why she hadn't. She settled with not having killed him because he was an asset to the survival of her village. That was the most likely reason. The other option…she didn't even want to think of.

"What are you doing, Kaede?" Naruto said sharply, grabbing her by the arm and towing her away from Sasuke, who was now standing with his eyes glaring viciously. "Did you just try to kill him?"

"No," she said, oddly calm and peaceful. "I just got my point across."

By this time, Sakura had come down the hallway with Kakashi and Gai—who had been hanging around with Lee since he'd come back—at her heels. They stopped in front of the room, peering curiously around inside. Kaede greeted them with a collected lift of her chin and jerked her head in Sasuke's direction. But Naruto answered their probing stares before she could.

"I think she just tried to strangle Sasuke," he said simply, still holding her arms behind her back in an effort to restrain any further attempts to kill the Uchiha. "I told her about him wanting to quit and drop the plan, and she flipped. She tricked me and got away."

Sakura immediately stepped inside and went over to Sasuke, ignoring the disgruntled noise he made as she reached up to check the bruises and red marks on his throat. She pursed her lips and touched the injuries, her hand glowing blue with healing chakra. When she moved, the marks were gone and the bruises were slowly disappearing.

"You'll be fine," she said simply, and turned her attention to Kaede, who had calmed down enough for Naruto to release her. "You, on the other hand, need a chill pill. What were you trying to do, ruin everything?"

"No," Kaede replied, rubbing her wrists where Sasuke had grabbed onto them so roughly during their struggle. "I just wanted to tell him how stupid he was and how many lives he was sacrificing in his effort to keep me safe."

"You need protection," was Sasuke's solemn answer as he came up to her, standing directly in front of her. When she tried to protest, he placed his finger on her lips. "We may have broken it off," he said in tones low enough so only she could hear him, "but you cannot keep going on like you are. Orochimaru remembered the curse seal he put on you years ago and decided to use it to his advantage. He can activate it at any time, during battle, when you're at your most vulnerable, whenever he feels like just being the sadistic sick-ass freak he is. You know how he gets when he's in his moods, and now he has something to take it out on. And I'll be damned if I let him hurt you."

Kaede swallowed hard, trying to gather all of her emotions. She felt heartsick and nervous with Sasuke standing so close, close enough to kiss him again. She was sobered by his words, and amazed at the length of time he had talked. It was terribly unusual for him to talk very much at all, much less a miniature speech.

When she finally found her voice and was able to answer, she said, "I appreciate your concern, but I've lived right underneath Orochimaru's nose long enough before, and I don't want to keep going on in the same place. This village is the only thing I have left, do you understand? These people, my friends, are my family, and I can't just let Orochimaru go ahead and destroy that."

"You don't…" Sasuke frowned and growled slightly in frustration, grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him. As soon as she had started to resist, they had disappeared and reappeared somewhere outside.

Fighting back the urge to kick and scream and beat Sasuke senseless, Kaede waited until he let her down before she went with the complete opposite of these feelings and pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her without hesitation, holding her to his chest and slowly rocking her back and forth. She buried her face in his chest, breathing in his familiar scent as he rested his cheek on the top of her head and did the same.

She felt home again, as if nothing bad in the world existed and everything was what her mind thought it should be. That is, it all felt right until Sasuke pulled away.

"I brought us out here to talk," he said monotonously, shoving his hands lazily into his pockets as he leaned against the trunk of the tree he was standing in front of. Kaede mimicked his poster, only on the tree opposite him. They stood there for a few moments until she decided to break the silence and speak up.

"I can't believe you, Sasuke. You know me like the back of your hand, and you know how much I hate living under that horrible man's shadow. It kills me."

Sasuke merely nodded, inviting her to go on, which she refused to do. She could out-quiet Uchiha Sasuke any day. Besides, from the way he shifted his shoulders, she knew she'd hit a sore spot when she insisted that he should know how much it hurt her to have to let Orochimaru keep going like he was. It wouldn't be long.

After about fifteen minutes of silence and neither of them making a move to speak, Sasuke uttered a frustrated little sound and said, "Fine."

Satisfied, Kaede nodded slowly and held out her hand to him, not really expecting him to shake it, but not surprised when he did. "Good. Now, please, take me back."

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**There is nothing more satisfying than proving yourself right to a guy who thinks you're wrong, is there girls? Nope! At least, I don't think so. Anyway, I can't wait to read your reviews on this chapter as all my lovely reviewers have been so great and encouraging and stuff! Sniffle I'm gonna cry! No!**

**Anyway, this'll be the last update for a little bit--as long as I can keep myself away from the computer and my Microsoft Word--because my Dad says I can't read the new Harry Potter book when it comes out unless I finish my dumb reading assignment, Jane Eyre. I swear, that book is soooo boring. At least, it is for the moment. So I've gotta get reading on that, and working on teh two essays I have to write for it. AHHHH!**

**Luv ya**

**Nicola**


	18. Chapter 17

**Wow. To anyone who ever is thinking about taking an English Honors course, don't, because you'll have to read a boring book by a boring British author from the boring nineteenth century. I'm still not done with the whole "reading journal" thing for Jane Eyre. Ugh. But the essays are done. YAY!**

**Finally updated, I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

**Nicola**

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**Chapter Seventeen: The War Is On**

Kaede swiftly blocked the punches Rock Lee was throwing at her, predicting his every move almost before he even knew them. She and Lee were sparring, trying to get in as best of shape as possible, tweaking their skills to perfection. The last fight, their last chance to gain back Konoha, was looming in the near future. For the past nearly two years they had slowly inched closer and closer to the village, and were almost at the stopping point. But it was here, Sasuke had informed them, that they would have to stay for a long while, months.

She was grateful for that, she reminded herself as she threw a kick at Lee that was easily blocked. The people would be glad to not have to pick up and move for a while, which in turn made her life easier. It was hard enough to see the people being shuffled around like luggage, but to hear their despairs and complaints was terrible.

Rock Lee, noticing her suddenly distracted state, hit her square in the jaw, but she recovered quickly to latch onto his wrist and send him flying in the other direction. He flipped in the air and landed on his feet, grinning.

"You are very good, Kaede," he said, obviously satisfied. Modestly Kaede smiled and gave a slight wave of her hand.

"Yeah, I learned from the best."

Lee positively beamed at the words of praise and rushed over to hug her. Kaede let him, glad that she had made him feel high and mighty. As if he needed it, anyway. After all, his teacher's name did come to mean "Might Guy."

Of course, saying that she'd learned from the best didn't necessarily mean she was talking about Rock Lee, but she would rather let him believe that than be crushed. Again.

"I'm just about done for today," she said easily, and Rock Lee nodded, straightening the headband around his waist and motioning for her to leave the sparring room first.

She had to admit, this area of the underground was pretty nice. It had dozens of good-sized rooms equipped with cots and blankets and pillows for Konoha citizens to sleep on. Each room fit about twenty-five adults, leaving plenty of room for children to stay with them. There were also smaller rooms for the Jounin, Sannin, ANBU, and other higher-ups. Kaede shared one of these with her diminishing group of friends.

Subconsciously, she reached up and rubbed around her right eye, thinking of the day another of her friends had perished under the hands of the Sound. About eight months ago, she, Hagane Kotetsu, and Shizune had gone out to visit Gaara, the Kazekage, about some supplies that they needed. On the way back, however, they were ambushed by Sound ninja. All three of them fought with determination, and Kaede had been burning with the urge to kill the enemy nin. That burning desire had heightened when she saw Kotetsu with a kunai stuck nearly all the way through his chest.

Shizune had been unable to save him, as his heart was pierced and bleeding. There was nothing they could do for him but bury him and wish his spirit rapid travel to whatever heaven was waiting for him. Besides, they'd had their own injuries to worry over.

As a result of the fatal battle with the Sound ninja, Shizune had sported two black eyes, making her look like a raccoon of sorts, and a fractured ankle. Kaede still suffered from an injury, one of several dozen she'd received. Sure, a few little bitty sprains and scratches and bruises—and one sort of large gash over her rib cage—caused her a small amount of agony, but the one injury that she was suffering from would never be completely healed.

In a mad attempt to kill the ninja who'd slain Kotetsu, she'd attacked him insanely, eventually ending his life but receiving a stab to the eye. Even though the actual wound had healed up, her cornea had been badly damaged, and she was unable to see clearly in the left eye. She could make out shadows and shapes, but it was all fuzzy, and in black and white. It made fighting more difficult, yet she persisted.

With a sigh, she turned the waterspout over the basin in the kitchen on and placed a glass under the spigot, filling it to the brim. She let the cold liquid flow over her tongue and down her throat. Her hair was, as usual, tied back in a loose, lazy ponytail that was inevitably coming out and frizzing up. She didn't even try to smooth it down anymore, because it was useless. As if she had anyone to look nice for anyway.

A sting on her neck that would have normally startled her was now ignored. It wasn't a conscious effort when she reached up and rubbed the oddly shaped bruise that was the source of the pain. The curse mark hurt most of the time now, and she'd grown used to it. It didn't bother her anymore.

Ever since the first time her curse seal had activated over a year ago, the frequency of the episodes had increased until she was constantly living with sharp pains and stings. No longer did she pass out with the pain. She merely ignored it, except for certain moments when it was unbearable.

Like when Sasuke was around.

She had no idea why, but every time Sasuke was near her, or she heard his name in conversation, the bruise began to throb violently and she had to fight to resist the temptation to cry out and clutch at her neck. If the Uchiha ever saw her do that, he would most definitely rush to her aid and come up with some reason to hang around even more. It would be hard to refuse if he did offer to stay, but she'd have to, because he was the source of the excruciating pain.

Sometimes, she swore he could see right through her little acts and fake smiles and half-heartedly cold greetings. It irked her beyond belief that she couldn't see what he was really feeling, too. She truly did want to hear him speak to her like they'd used to, hold her and brush the hair out of her face. But she had broken the ties between them, and she'd have to live with it.

With a rather sad and lonely sigh, Kaede set her glass back on the counter, tugged the leather strip out of her hair, and ran a hand through the brown locks, trying to imagine what it would be like if Sasuke suddenly came up behind her, tugging lightly on her hair, wrapping one arm around her waist. The hollow feeling that had been clogging her chest widened a great deal with thoughts of the Uchiha man; she grimaced and tried to force her mind onto another subject.

Like…the Kazekage.

Smiling slightly at the idea of another visit from redheaded Gaara, Kaede pulled her hair back into a tighter, more secure ponytail. If there was anyone that helped fill the void Sasuke had left, it was Gaara. He came around every now and again, always on her worst days, claiming he had some kind of business that was usually finished in fifteen minutes, leaving the rest of the day to spend talking with her.

But their relationship stopped there.

Gaara was more of an older brother to Kaede than an actual partner in an intimate relationship. He understood what she was going through, how much it hurt, and how much it took to be brave all the time. He'd never experienced love as a child, but now he did, from his village and his siblings and even a few close friends. He could hardly imagine letting go of the love he now received that he'd longed to have. And that was only part of the things they spoke of.

They talked about life, and their respective villages, their pasts, their families and friends, the losses they'd suffered, the war, love, hate, the Akatsuki, everything. Simply put, the two of them were great friends, close enough to be related.

And it didn't hurt that he was cute, as Miki was constantly reminding Kaede. She blushed lightly at the thought, wondering why the Hyuga girl was trying to play matchmaker when Neji was being as stubborn as he was. Neji had been getting it into his head that it would be better for them to spend less time together and more time apart, of which Miki was not fond. Consequently, Miki was hanging around Kaede in increasing amounts, to the point that Kaede was beginning to get a little short tempered with her friend.

Almost as if on cue, the Hyuga strolled into the kitchen, a broad smile on her face. Kaede raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was up to.

"What?" she asked warily, glancing sideways at the grinning woman. Miki merely began to hum pointedly and jerked her head towards the door. Afraid to look, Kaede searched Miki for any more signs, didn't see any, and reluctantly turned her gaze to the hall.

Standing with his back to the doorframe, his arms crossed in his usual manner, and his clothes neatly pressed as always, Gaara was speaking in earnest tones with Naruto. Kaede noticed that they stood at eye level, well, almost, seeing as Naruto was just slightly taller. She also noticed that their voices were low, but urgent, and the blonde Hokage was making rapid gestures with his hands.

Still slightly curious as to why Miki seemed so happy about this obviously crisis in the making, Kaede shot another glance at her friend, but Miki wasn't paying any attention. With a shrug, she went back to studying Naruto and Gaara speaking to one another. She crept closer to the door to better hear them, staying against the wall and pressing her ears as near to the open doorframe as she dared.

"…can't do it now! There would be no sense in it! I don't care if he's threatening your village, at least you have one! You've been a help in this, but there's no way we are attacking tomorrow." That was Naruto.

"Well, I'm sorry, Lord Hokage," Gaara said in a monotonous voice, somehow managing to make it sound venomous. Kaede winced. "I've put Suna and its people in enough jeopardy. If we wait any longer, we won't be there to help, and there'll be two villages in this condition instead of one." Gaara sighed. "And Kaede, we know you're listening."

Sheepish and feeling like a little kid caught eavesdropping, Kaede stepped through the doorway and stood where she could face both of the Kage's.

"From what I heard," she said sensibly, having gathered enough from those two small rants to understand what was happening, "you," she looked at Gaara, "want to attack several months early, in the hopes of preventing Orochimaru from killing off your village. And you," she looked at Naruto, "don't want to. You want to stick to the plan." She jabbed her thumb to her chest. "And I believe that in compromise attack in two weeks." At Naruto's noise of protest, she held up her hand. "Look, Naruto, I understand how close that seems, but there's no time like the present. And besides, the longer we wait, the harder it will be, and the more suspicious Orochimaru will become. It doesn't make sense, I know, but that's how he thinks. If we're not abrupt with him—considering we've waited years already—he thinks we're planning some big thing. And that's not what he's expecting."

"So you want us to attack early, when he expects us to?" Naruto said in astonishment. Gaara, however, folded his arms and nodded.

"I see. And I agree. Naruto, Kaede's right. We'll have to attack, and if it can't be now, why not in fourteen days?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Fine. But if anything goes wrong, it's just something else for your conscious, Kaede." He turned and called over his shoulder, "You're going to tell Sasuke when he gets here. I'm going to go inform the shinobi that'll be fighting. They need to be forewarned."

Kaede caught the last two things he'd said, but his comment on her having to tell Sasuke was burning in her ears. How could he be so cold as to make her talk to the Uchiha when he knew damn well they hadn't spoken more than mere formalities for the past two years?!

Gaara laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder, noticing her shaking in what he took to be fury, but was really fear. She barely felt his hand, fuming and worrying over what they would say to each other. Sasuke would be furious; he would be upset and probably go into a rage. He would probably scream at her and tell her she was dumb and throw insults left and right and threaten to throttle her alive and…and a whole mess of other things. But she was going to tell him, even if she was scared out of her mind.

Coming to her senses, she reached up to her shoulder and took Gaara's hand in hers, giving it a light squeeze. "Thanks."

Gaara was silent for a moment, turning her hand over in his and tracing her palm with his forefinger. "If you want me to tell the Uchiha for you, then I will."

Surprised, Kaede watched him lace their fingers together in a comforting way. "No, I'll do it. There's no way I'd give him the satisfaction of knowing I chickened out of talking to him. He'd never let me live it down."

She smiled and started towing Gaara down the hallway towards the door that Sasuke always came through. The Kazekage followed willingly, and Kaede was extremely thankful for his presence. It would be easier to have such a great friend squeezing her hand when she had to speak to Sasuke, much easier than acting bored and nonchalant around the Uchiha man. No matter how many times she confronted him, she was never able to really look him in the eye and speak to him without stumbling over her words. Those black eyes just…made her heart want to melt despite her best defenses.

They stood there for a while, in a comfortable silence, just enjoying each other's company, until they both heard movement coming from the other side of the door behind them. Kaede turned and held her breath, waiting.

The door opened, and Sasuke looked up, his eyes darting rapidly from Kaede's hand entwined with Gaara's, to their faces, and back again. Kaede could see him swallow hard and tighten his jaw in an effort to keep his emotions from showing. His eyes finally rested on her face, and she lifted her chin in greeting.

"Sasuke," she said, taking a step forward, retrieving her hand from Gaara's, and holding out for the Uchiha to shake. Sasuke looked at it as if it were covered in poison, the reluctantly took it in his. Kaede bit back the gasp threatening to come out; the moment her hand touched Sasuke's, a shock had gone through her straight to her heart, which thudded rapidly in response.

She wasn't sure if he'd felt it too, but he pulled his hand away quickly and shoved it into his pocket.

"Kaede," he mumbled, staring hard into her face. "Is there any special reason," his eyes ran over Gaara almost completely inconspicuously, but Kaede caught the movement, "that you have come to greet me?"

"Yes, actually," Kaede replied, not letting his tone go unnoticed. "We have decided to attack early."

Suspicious, Sasuke licked his lips before speaking. "How early?" It sounded as he had chosen his words very carefully, and Kaede fought back her smile.

"We'll be attacking in two weeks."

The response from Sasuke would normally have gone unnoticed, but Kaede knew him too well, and saw the slight jerk of his head and tightening of his fist in his pocket. He was quiet, glaring at a spot on the wall over her head as he mused over the unexpected change of plans.

Thankfully, Gaara then stepped forward. "Sasuke," he said, holding out his hand. Sasuke's eyes flashed angrily over it, then moved away as he acted like he hadn't heard the Kazekage. Gaara's hand went back down to his side. "We are attacking at my request. I would have like the attack to be earlier, tomorrow, in fact, but Kaede convinced me otherwise. Naruto is not happy either, but you'll have to understand that my village is in jeopardy and I will not stand for it." Gaara looked at Kaede and placed a hand on her shoulder, his face blank. "I'll see you soon, Kaede?" She nodded, and he walked down the hallway, disappearing into another room.

The moment Gaara was out of sight, Sasuke sneered and turned his venomous stare to Kaede. "What's with him? He your boyfriend?"

Despite the anger billowing up her vocal cords to her mouth, Kaede replied as calmly as if he'd asked her how her day was going. "No, he's just a very good friend who has his loyalties and morals in the right places. But we're not talking about him."

Sasuke seemed to swell with irritation at her answer, and she allowed herself a smirk, which only infuriated him more. "Look, you have no right to change the date all of a sudden without my consultation. You…" He couldn't find the words, and Kaede motioned for him to come closer. He leaned forward and hissed venomously, "You are nothing but an arrogant woman who does anything in her power to spite me, you know that?"

_SMACK._

"You deserved that," Kaede snarled, turning on her heel and stalking down the hallway. "And even if he was my boyfriend, he'd be a better one than you! He's not a complete, total, utter jerk!" For the last two words she spat out, she turned around for emphasis and threw him an obscene gesture with her right hand.

When she started stomping towards she didn't know where, she clenched her hands into fists and bellowed, _"I HATE YOU UCHIHA SASUKE!!!!"_



Still fuming, Kaede paced back and forth in the kitchen, kicking aside a chair that just happened to be in her way, slamming a fist on the counter as she passed by it for the umpteenth time. How dare he call her an arrogant woman? How dare he say that she was only out to get him? Ugh! Men were so infuriating!!

On her billionth trip from the far wall to the counter, she noticed that someone was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame, waiting for her little rage to be over with. When she stopped to stare at the person, she realized that her earlier worries had been wrong. He hadn't been going to go into a rage—she was. It was inevitable.

What did he want now? Hadn't he already called her names and made her feel foolish for nothing? So what if she was a friend with Gaara? That didn't mean he had to act like a definite jerk-face and make her yell at him.

They stared each other down, neither moving nor giving any hint that they were going to speak to one another. Kaede felt her heart beating rapidly in her chest, almost painfully as it rammed against her ribcage in quick succession. She didn't know if he felt the same way at the moment, but being so close to him, with no one else around, made her regret everything they'd ever broken up because of. When they'd been together, it had been so close that she could never have called him a boyfriend. It didn't seem right, not the right term for their relationship. She didn't think there was a word for what they used to be.

They still stood there.

Kaede knew she wasn't going to be the one to make the first move, and he wasn't going to, either. They were at a stalemate that neither wanted to nor would break. How strange things could get to, she mused silently, her crossed arms beginning to ache. A few years ago, nothing could have kept them so far apart for so long when in the same proximity. A few years ago, she would be nestling in his arms and telling him how scared and excited she was about the upcoming attack. A few years ago they wouldn't be fighting. Now, it seemed all they ever did was fight, even if they were broken up.

Despite how much she wanted to run over to him and hug him as tightly as she could, she decided that this was not the time for reconciliation. This was not the time for them to get back together, if they ever would. She looked into Sasuke's eyes for a long, long moment, then turned her back and stared at the wall, waiting until she heard his retreating footsteps to turn around.

He wasn't standing in the doorway any more, and she relaxed, moving over to the table and sitting down. She pulled her hair loose from its ponytail and fluffed it habitually. There was really no reason for her to try and make her hair look nice; there was no one that cared. Sure, Gaara complimented her, but in a kind, friendly, almost brotherly way. The only one who had ever enjoyed running his hands through her hair and twisting it around his finger was Sasuke, and where was he now? Probably off trying to blow steam from their argument.

With that thought in mind, Kaede blew her hair out of her face and tried to concentrate on the battle coming up. If it succeeded, Konoha would be theirs again, Orochimaru would be run out, and the remaining citizens could start their lives over and life as happily as they ever had. She smiled at the thought, but couldn't shake the idea of them losing again.

Orochimaru had won once. Despite the best efforts of their best shinobi, they'd failed to keep their village. And here, almost five years later, they were planning to fight as hard as they could to take back their home. Nothing was going to stop them, she knew it.

As far as she'd gathered from the meetings with Sasuke she was half-distracted during, staring way too much at those dark eyes that wouldn't meet her own, she knew the basic gist of the plan.

She knew that she and Miki were going to leave through a tunnel that led to the gate outside the Kage temple. From there, they were to make their way into the temple, fight back the guards there as silently and stealthily as they could, and sneak up to the old Hokage office where Orochimaru was bound to be, surrounded by his best guards: Kimimaro and Kabuto.

She also knew everyone else's role, but was still confused about what Sasuke was supposed to be doing. She remembered that he'd said he would be waiting, but what did that mean? Did that mean he would be waiting for her and Miki, or up in Orochimaru's office to help with the resistance? She hadn't the slightest clue.

The sound of someone coughing lightly from the doorway reached Kaede's ears, and she turned in her chair to see who had made the sound—Sasuke, of course. He was wearing a disgruntled and somewhat sheepish expression as he made his way over to the sink and gestured for her to join him. Reluctantly she did so, and stood next to him while he filled the basin up with water and squirted some soap in to make bubbles.

"What, are we taking a bubble bath?" she snipped, watching him take out two rags and a towel. He didn't say anything, just shoved one of the rags at her and dunked his into the soapy basin. She followed suit, still having no idea what he was up to.

"We're supposed to wash dishes," he said finally, reaching over and, using one hand, dropped all the dirty dishes into the sink. She wrinkled her nose in distaste—wasn't it Miki's night to do the dishes?—and set to work scrubbing the dirty plates and bowls. She noticed that every time she put her hand back into the water to feel around for another dish to wash, Sasuke watched her extremely carefully and once even subtly pushed her hand away from a knife she hadn't seen. As if she wouldn't catch the gesture anyway. Cheh.

They scrubbed in silence for a while, until all of the dishes and utensils were sparkling clean and on the drying rack. Kaede turned so she was leaning against the counter and sighed, tossing her dirty rag into the sink. It plopped into the water, scattering small droplets all over the place, and Sasuke glanced at her momentarily. She ignored him and continued to stare at the ceiling.

A splash of water hit her on the side of the face and she spluttered, not expecting it. When she looked round to see who had splashed her, she saw a smirking Sasuke looking down at her. Blowing through her lips, irritated, she scooped up a palm full of water and tossed it on him. He took the blow with a jerk of surprise, and proceeded to splash her back.

Insulted, Kaede skimmed her hand across the surface of the water, splattering him and her both with a rain of dishwater. She laughed at the expression on his face, and ducked a little too late. He had turned the faucet on and taken the little sprayer, carefully aimed, and hit her with a jet of water. She gave a little "eep" of surprise and dipped one of the cups she'd just washed into the sink, dumping the whole thing onto Sasuke's head. He let the sprayer go, and it zipped back into its holster next to the faucet. He moved closer to the giggling woman and, grabbing her face, kissed her.

For a moment, Kaede couldn't think straight. He was kissing her. He was _kissing her._ Oh, it felt so wonderful to have his lips on hers again. There were no words to explain the shock going through her body. She placed her hands on his chest and gripped his shirt in her tight fists, falling into the kiss with everything she had.

His lips were so soft…so…warm and welcome. The feel of his rough, calloused hands on her face and neck sent shivers down her spine and she gripped his shirt even tighter. But then, it hit her.

They weren't supposed to be kissing.

They were through. They weren't together.

So why was he kissing her? _Why was he kissing her?!_

Her hands loosed his shirt and she pushed him back. He released her almost too willingly, as if he, too, had figured out that what they were doing was wrong. He looked sort of sheepish, but it was covered up immediately by a scowl. Without another word, he walked out of the room, leaving a slightly dazed and confused Kaede behind.

She leaned heavily against the counter, her hand rubbing her forehead, and tried to gather her jumbled thoughts together. He had just kissed her. Why had he just kissed her like he used to? They weren't supposed to be touching at all, much less kissing. Or more like making out, really. It had started out, she realized, as a playful match of splashing each other, like they would have done years and years ago in their comfortable home in Konoha.

How far away those days seemed…but maybe, in a few months, after Konoha was back to what it used to be and everyone had settled, things could go back how they were, maybe she and Sasuke could get back together and live in their home in the Uchiha District and spend every day together and get married and have a family and grow old together and…

She needed to stop herself before she got in way over her head. All of that was merely wishful thinking.

But maybe…

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**Thank goodness I was able to update. Poor Kaede, wishful thinking. Shoot, half my days are spent in wishful thinking, lol. Okay, give me the reviews. But don't flame me, I've been out of commission for a while so it might not be what it could have been.**

**Review, por favor!**

**Luv ya**

**Nicola**


	19. Chapter 18

**Phew! I was so happy to get this chapter done! Now I can move along to the actual battle...**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill**

**Nicola**

**

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****Chapter Eighteen: Preparation**

Kaede twirled the two kunai between her first and second fingers, never letting them hit each other, just as Kakashi had shown her to. She was sitting down, facing the far wall of the sparring room, not really seeing the outlines of human bodies with sound symbols on their foreheads. She let one of the kunai loose, and in a moment, it stuck out of the opposite wall, poking from the chest of one of the fake Sound ninja.

Absentminded as she was these days, Kaede barely felt any emotion towards her perfect aim. Normally, she would've rejoiced and tried repeatedly to hit her target again, but today, her heart wasn't in it.

The official warning of war had been sent to the Sound village, to Orochimaru, that morning. One brave Chunin had elected to go ahead and deliver it, and everyone knew he was headed to certain death. He knew it, too, but strived to complete the mission he'd been given. Kaede comforted herself with the idea that he would die helping his village and protecting his people.

It was a move she'd normally make, Kaede mused, as the second kunai flew across the room to join the first one in the padded chest of the Sound ninja. Once again, she didn't celebrate her straight-on hit. She merely leaned back against the wall, shaking her brown hair out of her face, and sighed. There wasn't very much she noticed at the moment, other than her own self-instilled depression.

Yesterday, she had argued with Sasuke, and then been forced to wash dishes with him. They'd gotten into a water fight, a playful one, like they used to have that usually followed with him giving her a kiss and a session of cuddling on the couch. Like he would have done had they been together, Sasuke had kissed her, kissed her passionately, but then left after she pushed him away.

Was it a mistake to have done that, to stop the kiss? No, it wasn't. They weren't an item anymore, and she would not allow him to lock lips with her unless their relationship got back on its feet, which she highly doubted.

Pushing thoughts of Sasuke away, Kaede found herself thinking of the Chunin boy heading to his death. It was terrible, having watched him leave the hideout and dash off into the trees, knowing his life would be ending. She had been certain that his parents would object, but she soon found out both his parents had died in the first battle, leaving him without family. He only had an older sister, who told him he would do what his heart told him to. Apparently, his heart had said for him to leave and serve his village in the only way he could—to literally sacrifice himself to the Sound just to set the scene for the attack. Hopefully, Orochimaru wouldn't get an idea of what they were planning, and order the poor boy's torture until he told of their plan. But he wouldn't tell—he was loyal to Konoha.

With another sigh, Kaede stood up and tightened the headband covering her forehead. She pushed it back so that it sat on the top of her head, keeping her hair out of her face; she had enough problems with vision already, and didn't need anything else obscuring her sight.

She left the training room and headed for the room she shared at night with her friends. No one would be in there at the moment—they were all preparing themselves and others for the battle in thirteen days. Only two people, she noticed as she passed by the kitchen, were not preparing, but catching up on missed kissing sessions. She resisted the temptation to chuck a shuriken at Miki and Neji, who were making out against the counter. She wrinkled her nose and kept going until she reached their room, and went in, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Thinking she was quite alone, she settled down in the corner, hugged her knees to her chest, and looked down at the floor. Once again the Chunin made his way into her thoughts, bringing a bout of tears with him, and she pushed him to the back of her mind. She did not need to cry right now, not with the citizens of Konoha beginning to crumble under the pressures of the upcoming fight. She knew they were really missing their homes right now, what with the slightest chance that they'd be moving back looming in the extremely near future. She, too, missed her comfy home in the Uchiha district, but thinking of home and longing for it wasn't going to help.

She did not notice the man sitting in the opposite corner until he cleared his throat, attracting her attention. Expecting to see Naruto or Sasuke or someone like that, she was surprised when her eyes met Kakashi's. He was no longer on his crutch, his gray hair had grown out to its usual length, and he was not wearing his mask. She had forgotten that her sensei was still down here with the rest of them, seeing as he stayed with the older ninja, like Gai (reluctantly with Gai), Jiraiya, Iruka, and others. She lifted her chin in greeting to him, then went back to studying the floor.

She heard him get up and take a seat next to her, staring at the same spot she was. She knew his headband was righted, straight on his forehead, and that his Sharingan eye was showing. It was this reason that she could not bring herself to look at him. After yesterday's little accidental occurrence, staring into Kakashi's Sharingan eye would only make the hurt worse. Then again, it could sooth her, as it sometimes did.

Kakashi didn't speak, only waited for her to make a move suggesting she was ready for conversation. She did not move for a very long time, fighting back the lump in her throat, telling herself that ninja didn't cry, didn't get emotional, never showed what they were feeling. She almost laughed as she thought of how she never could master keeping her face completely blank, keeping her emotions in check like most of her friends could. It was nearly impossible, really.

She struggled with the urge to pour out all her thoughts to her sensei, and the urge to keep it all in, bottle it up until the next battle when she could scream without anyone thinking anything of it. Kakashi had always been there for her when Naruto, Sakura, or Sasuke hadn't. He'd always had a few wise words to say, a friendly, comforting pat on the shoulder, a glance that said he understood. That really was what she needed right now. But why should she get treated any better than anyone else? Everyone was fighting with his or her own tumbling emotions, thoughts, and pains. They weren't getting the comfort of an older adult, the kindness of a knowing nod, so why should she? She didn't know why, and didn't plan on being treated any different.

But it was there, right there, she could be soothed and let out all of her worries, so why didn't she just take it? It was right in front of her, next to her really, in reach.

With a shaky breath, Kaede turned her head to look at her sensei, and he looked back at her. She leaned against his shoulder, he put his arm tentatively around her, and she spoke. She told him what had happened the day she and Sasuke broke it off, she told him the feelings she still had for the Uchiha, and what had happened yesterday, and about the regret she felt for sending the inexperienced Chunin out on what was really a weathered Jounin's task. She told Kakashi about how worried she was that the battle wouldn't go as planned and everyone would be hurt, how scared she was for her village, her friends, and even her enemies. And Kakashi listened, squeezing her shoulder every now and then, and finally, when she was finished and wearied from the long needed confession, he helped her stand.

"Kaede," he said, picking his words carefully, "I know how you feel. It hurts to worry all the time about those you care about, and wondering if something will go wrong and they'll all get hurt. You even worry about your enemies, not sure if they really want to be fighting, and trying to figure out what they ever did to you that couldn't be easily forgiven. I've got through the same thing when you all were a team. When Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto were fighting Zabuza and Haku, I've never been more afraid in my life. They were in danger, and I felt helpless. I couldn't assist them. They were like kids to me, and I'd grown to know them so well…to know all of you well, for that matter." He half-smiled. "So don't worry. We're all here for you, okay? And if you ever need someone to talk to, and Gaara isn't around, just find me. Kay?"

Kaede couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, Kakashi. Thanks."

"No problem." He stretched and rolled his shoulder. "My shoulder's stiff. You want to join me in a sparring match for a little bit? It'll make you feel better, promise. Well, maybe not physically better, because I can always beat you, but mentally. How bout it?"  
"Sure," she agreed, and together they walked to the sparring room. As she got into her stance, Kaede figured that the next two weeks were going to be just fine.



That evening, as Kaede was coming out of the bathroom, having washed up as best as she could with their still limited supply of water, Naruto called all of those who would be fighting into the kitchen. Hair dripping, Kaede followed Sakura into the kitchen and stood next to her by the sink, trying to wring out her hair.

She felt a lot better, really, after her talk with Kakashi and the spar afterwards. As always, he'd prevailed over her, but she didn't really mind. She was used to it by now.

Scanning the room to make sure that everyone who was supposed to be there was there—the kitchen had never been more crowded, and there were still people out in the hallway—Naruto waved his hand to call for order. Everyone became silent, even those in the hall, and the Hokage began to speak.

"As you all know, after tonight, there will be only twelve days left before we leave to fight the Sound." There was a round of determined whoops and clapping before Naruto called for silence again. Once he had it, he went on, "And, true to our best efforts, we will prevail. There is nothing that Orochimaru can do that will take us down any further than we are." A few people chuckled at this. "Now that the day is looming in the very near future, we need to be prepared. You are all extremely skilled ninja, who have earned their place to fight for Konoha. Hell, everyone who is loyal to the Leaf village deserves to fight, but we can't risk it. Our numbers may not be large like Orochimaru's armies, but our determination is big, and our spirit is bigger. The Sound village has no chance. But I want to warn you before you commit to this completely—many of you are most likely going to die. It is a risk I'm willing to take, and hopefully, you'll be fighting right alongside me. Those of you who are going to fight, stay. And those of you who don't think they can risk it, leave."

Kaede's heart warmed as not a single person moved from their spots, and she didn't hear a scuffle from the hallway. They were all going to fight, fight for Konoha, and for their homes and families and lost loved ones. They were in it for the long haul.

She didn't hear Naruto speak anymore. All of her attention was focused on her friends, and the others who were planning to fight. Rock Lee was watching with rapt attention, his fists clenched and his bushy eyebrows narrowed over round, wide eyes. On his right stood Gai, in an equally eager stance, his fist thrust out in front of him as he half-crouched excitedly. Kaede's eyes strayed from the pair to her sensei, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, as always. He seemed not to be paying much attention, but she could tell he was all ears.

Miki was holding Neji's hand so tightly that he looked almost to be in pain. He was taking it well, though, his white eyes locked on Naruto's face. Shikamaru stood in a similar way as Kakashi, except he was not looking everywhere but Naruto. He was paying attention. Shizune and Tsunade stood next to each other as they listened intently while Jiraiya watched with pride in his eyes.

Kaede glanced over at Sakura, who was smiling, green orbs glistening with tears of excitement and glee. Kaede grinned and placed a hand on her comrade's shoulder. Sakura looked up and returned the smile before watching Naruto again. Hinata was also staring, but with admiration. She still hero worshiped the Hokage, and had good reason to, really.

With a sigh of satisfaction, Kaede winked at Kakashi, whom she had just caught glancing her way. He half-smiled back, scratched the back of his head, and went back to looking all around the room. Kaede followed his gaze, and saw that all of the ninja who were to be fighting were tense with anticipation. But they were also afraid.

So focused on watching everyone else's reactions, Kaede failed to notice when Sasuke walked into the crowded room. The only thing that grabbed her attention was the ninja parting like the Red Sea as he strode through, one hand shoved in his pocket, the other hanging lazily by his side. He exuded confidence and superiority, something that everyone seemed to stray away from. Kaede snorted to herself, thinking that their acting as if they were afraid of him and in awe would only make his ego bigger.

Although her face was blank—she was beginning to get better at this—and she acted as though she were paying attention to Naruto, her heart was thudding rapidly in her chest and she couldn't help but steal a look in Sasuke's direction every now and then. Her heart was pounding so hard she was sure he could hear it, but that he was choosing not to smirk at her like he would've normally. She put a hand to her chest, regretting it instantly when Sasuke's head turned to glare reproachfully at her. She saw the worry behind it, though, and removed her hand, letting it rest casually on her hip.

Finally Naruto was through, and everyone began to stand. Kaede pushed off of the counter and ran a hand over her half-dried hair. Great, now it would be nappy and frizzy and ugly looking. Thinking of the brush sitting on top of her little makeshift bed consisting of a mat, a blanket, and a pillow, she left the kitchen with Sakura and the two headed for their room.

The other Jounin soon followed suit, and in a few moments time, Kaede was brushing her hair in a room full of talking and excited ninja. Even Hinata was talking quietly with Miki and Neji. Sakura turned from telling Naruto how great his speech was and sat next to Kaede.

"He was wonderful, wasn't he?" Her green eyes glittered, and Kaede couldn't help but laugh. About ten years ago, she would've been giving Sasuke that same look, and he would've been ignoring it with everything bit of resolve he had. Kaede had to admit, it was kind of hard to not want to pay attention to Sakura's adorably face whenever she spoke of Naruto.

"Yes, Sakura, he was," Kaede giggled, and put her brush down, her brown hair finally knot-free. "Anyway, are you getting as excited and nervous as I am?"

"Oh, hell yeah!" Sakura replied, picking Kaede's brush up and scooting over so she was sitting behind her friend. She began to brush it out again, just to have something to do while they spoke. "It's going to be great, I know it! We're going to kick Orochimaru right in the ass!"

Kaede laughed again. "Yeah, I figured as much. It'll be hard, but it'll be worth it when we get Konoha back."

"If you get Konoha back," a deep, velvety voice said from Kaede's other side, and she bristled. Sakura felt it, and gently touched her shoulder, telling her to calm down. Sasuke pushed off the wall and sat down next to Sakura. "There's still the chance that you aren't going to be able to prevail."  
Not letting his use of "you" instead of "we" go unnoticed, Sakura ran the brush a little roughly through Kaede's hair and said, "What do you mean, 'if _you _get Konoha back'? I thought you were in on this too, Sasuke."

"Are you doubting my loyalties?" he said, his tone sharp.

"Yes, I am," Sakura replied, not even flinching as she met his eyes and he activated his Sharingan. Kaede took this as a warning sign, but Sakura knew Sasuke almost as well as she did, and could take care of herself. "Are you doubting your own loyalties, Sasuke?"  
Sasuke hadn't expected this, and hesitated. It was all that Sakura needed to lob Kaede's hairbrush at his head. In his moment's hesitation, he didn't notice the brush, and it clunked him above the ear, and he rubbed the spot.

"You are! You having second thoughts! You jerk!" Sakura looked around for something else to hit him with, but Kaede grabbed her wrist before she could pick up the pillow and start mauling him with it.

"Chill, Sakura. He's in this deep, he won't chicken out. Will you, Sasuke?" He didn't answer. "Because you know what'll happen, don't you? We'll come after you, and see to it that you don't ever think of reproducing with anyone, much less using the lower half of your body for anything other than crawling feebly along."

"Nice threat," Sakura said approvingly, and the two women high-fived each other. Sasuke's face was murderous, and Kaede felt a strange thrill from it. She couldn't say that she hated the handsome man, but she could say that it felt great to get back at him for something.

"Kaede," he said in a venomously low voice, "I would keep my mouth shut if I were you. I can make this whole plan go to pot with a few simple words. There are a thousand ways I can keep this all from happening, and you know it."

"And there are a thousand ways I can harm you bodily, not to mention what Sakura can to mentally with her Genjutsu," Kaede snapped back, and the tension between the two was almost visible. Sakura picked the brush up again slowly, and tugged hard on Kaede's hair. Kaede looked away from Sasuke, crossing her arms and glaring furiously at the wall. If looks could kill, the wall would have a whole burned through it.

Sasuke didn't say anymore, and Kaede felt immediate regret for their fight. She sometimes—well, most of the time—wished that she could keep her tempter in better check. It had always hurt her and Sasuke's relationship, the way they always argued and bickered and everything else in the book. It had always ended up okay, though. Lately they'd been fighting a lot, over the silliest things. And she wanted it to stop, but her easily flared temper was coming between them. Of course, he wasn't making it any better, either. He got angry just as quickly as she did, but she should be able to control it more. She should be the responsible one and take control.

She felt agonizing pain in her whole body, sprouting from her neck, and had to get up. She told Sakura she'd be in the bathroom, and dashed down the hallway. She flung herself into the bathroom and leaned heavily over the tiny counter, swallowing hard and willing the pain to go away. She'd felt this before, after all, and knew it would leave if she tried hard enough to make it. It was the pain of her curse seal, and the first time she'd felt it, she'd been out for a while. The second time, she'd had more control over it, and every time after that, it hadn't bothered her. So why was it coming back with a vengeance?

In a moment, the pain diminished to the dull ache on her neck she was used to, and she sat down on the floor, holding her head in her hands. Always after this she was taken by an annoying headache that didn't seem to want to go away. She would last it out, though, and stood up after a few minutes to head back.

But just as she reached the door, her stomach churned, and she dove for the wastebasket. She heaved, feeling weak and sick, so sick that she barely noticed the warm hands holding her hair back for her and rubbing between her shoulder blades. Thinking it was Sakura, or Kakashi, or someone like that—definitely not Sasuke—she drew a few deep breaths before resurfacing, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

She glanced over her shoulder and came face-to-face with her favorite red headed Kazekage. Gaara let her hair go, but his hand never left her back as she stood and he steadied her on her feet. She smiled sheepishly at him, and he attempted to smile back, but failed and it came out more like a grimace.

"Thank you," she said as he let her out of the bathroom first. "For holding my hair, you know."

"Yes," Gaara replied, looking thoughtful. "My sister never seemed to like her hair in the way when she was vomiting. She used to make Kankuro hold it back for her." Kaede stopped her laugh before it came out—Gaara really didn't have shame in anything he said, did he?

"Well, it was nice of you to do the same for me, anyway," she said, and grabbed his hand again as they walked down the hallway. With his warm fingers interlaced with her won, Kaede felt humbled and barely noticed the headache still raging. It was nice to have a friend so close to her that she could hold hands with him and not blush about it, who she could talk to about anything in the same way she talked to her sensei.

After a few moments, when they reached the door to the Jounin's room, Gaara stopped Kaede and turned her to face him. "You're worried about the battle." Simple fact, not a question. That was how Gaara was.

Kaede sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I am. But I spoke with my sensei about it and I feel a lot better."

Gaara swung their hands, contemplating what she'd said. "I'm glad you were able to get your feelings off your chest. I never had that sort of relationship with my sensei. I sort of loathed him at the time." He didn't sound remorseful or longing, just objective and blunt as always. "Are you sure you are alright?"

"Yes, Gaara, thank you," Kaede replied, leaning against him for a brief moment before towing him into the room with her. Everyone looked up as they entered, then looked back down. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence—Gaara and Kaede were almost always by each other whenever he was around. Miki momentarily glared at the red head before turning back to Neji and resuming her previous conversation. Kaede and Gaara sat down by Lee and Sakura, who were playing a rapid game of cards.

"What are you playing?" Kaede inquired, and laughed when Lee shot his fist up into the air in triumph.

"Well, we were playing Speed, but since he's obviously just won, I don't know what we're gonna play," Sakura answered, frowning at her loss. Kaede thumped her on the back and grinned.

"Come on, I'll play him for you. Maybe I can beat him."

Sakura, knowing that Kaede had a pretty good chance of showing Lee up, scooted over to make room for her. Gaara sat down, and Kaede sat in front of him, leaning against his chest as Rock Lee dealt the cards and explained the rules of the game.

"The game of Speed is a very quick-paced one," the green-clad man began, setting up the game field. "It begins by flipping the two cards in between the two small stacks of five cards over. Whatever the cards are, you can place the number above or below on it. Since we are not playing doubles, you cannot place, say, a two on a two or a three on a three. You may go three-two-three-two, or vise versa. The first person to get rid of there entire deck wins. You may have only five cards in your hand at a time."

"Okay," Kaede said, and the game began.

With Gaara behind her whispering moves in her ear, Kaede quickly took control of the game, and when she won, Lee demanded a rematch. She complied, for three more games, until she finally threw in her cards and declared that continuing to play would just make it harder for Rock Lee to stop.

Rock Lee whined and cried, "No! We must keep playing until I finally defeat you!"

"Lee," Gaara said a little sharply, and Rock Lee looked at him in surprise; obviously the man hadn't thought the Kazekage could talk very much. "That's enough, she doesn't want to play anymore, so she's not going to."

Nodding, Rock Lee once again turned to Sakura, still mildly shocked, and requested another game of Speed. Kaede leaned her head back against Gaara's shoulder and he pulled his arms around her. Once again, she thought of how nice it was to have someone hold her, but that it wasn't the same without it being Sasuke. Gaara's arms were warm and welcome and comforting, yet they lacked the feeling that Sasuke's brought to Kaede. There was only the feeling of two close friends, not two…well, soul mates, if you could go that in-depth into it.

Across the room, Miki and Neji were sitting in a similar way, Neji with his arms wrapped around Miki, she leaning against him and tilting her head upwards and sideways for a chaste kiss. Kaede could see the spark between them, the closeness that she'd used to have with Sasuke, and envied them. It was terrible to feel so full and loved, but so empty at the same time as she watched her two friends share a moment together. Her heart tugged towards a faraway time, and she buried her face in Gaara's shirt, willing the feeling to go away.

Then, suddenly, she remembered something.

She shot to her feet and dove for her pillow, much to Gaara's surprise, digging underneath to pull out the one thing she was looking for. When her fingers touched the cool paper, she sighed, relieved that it was still there. It had lasted two years, thank Kami, and she hoped it would last even longer. The old picture was the last thing she had connecting herself to Sasuke, and she'd be damned if she let it go, too.

"What're you looking at?" Gaara asked, having moved over to her and placed his hand on her back.

"Nothing," she said calmly, knowing that if Gaara heard any hint of panic or secrecy in her voice he'd investigate for himself. "Just…memories, that's all."

Gaara nodded slowly, then stood again and pulled her with him. "I have to go back to the Sand now," he explained, and she smiled, giving his hand a little squeeze. "I'll see you soon?" He sounded hopeful, so she nodded and hugged him. He embraced her back and walked out of the room.

The moment the door closed behind him, Kaede went back over to her pillow and tugged the corner of the picture out from under it. She could just barely make out Sasuke's arm against the back deck railing, and she only wanted to look at the picture as a whole. But if she drew the picture completely out from under her pillow, it would only make it that much harder to resist the temptation that was Sasuke, and how would she explain it to her friends, anyway?

Settling with just touching the photograph, Kaede lay down on her pillow, staring towards the wall. Her friends around her were also beginning to settle down for the night, slowly breaking off conversations and crawling into their makeshift beds. They all knew what tomorrow could bring—news of the Chunin's death, probably, and more preparations for the battle in twelve days. Twelve days away…



Kaede woke up, finding it quiet and still in the room. Everyone was soundly asleep, their breathing steady, no movements whatsoever. She sighed, relieved that no one had heard her wake and sit up. She pushed the covers off of her after a moment, taking the picture from under her pillow, and standing. She wanted to get a good look at it, even if the memories from it would probably cause her pain.

She slipped out of the room and tiptoed down the hallway until she was at the end of it, sat down, and looked at the picture.

It was the same as she remembered it. Sasuke was leaning against the railing of their back porch at sunrise, his hair blown lightly out of his face, his eyes taking on a faraway look to them. He was staring up at the lightening sky, not paying attention to anything around him, his own thoughts consuming him. She loved this picture solely because it showed Sasuke, as he really was, not the cold demeanor he placed around him. She would never capture that in another picture again, she knew, nor would she probably see it with her own eyes outside of this paper frame.

"Never again," she whispered, touching the picture of Sasuke with the tips of her fingers and brushing the fine lines of his face. The corner of her lip twitched, and she felt the tears welling up behind her eyes. Her instincts told her to fight back, to keep them in and not let them fall. No, she told herself. She needed this.

Her tears dripped off of the end of her nose onto Sasuke's photograph, sliding down the picture and off the edge, leaving small tracks where they'd traveled. She kept her sobs as silent as she could, not wanting to wake anyone up. For the longest time she cried to no one, but for someone, for a lost someone whom she would never again hold.



That morning, Kaede woke up still in the hallway, still with the tearstained picture on her lap. She gasped, shoving it under her shirt as she realized that people were coming out of their rooms. Her head ached from crying herself to sleep and she slowly got to her feet, her back wrenching from sleeping the way she did.

She walked into the kitchen, sniffling a bit. She knew her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and that her friends would probably know why. She was saved from explaining her appearance, though, by the entrance of the very reason she'd been brought to tears: Sasuke.

Her eyes locked on his face, and even though he was avoiding her eyes, she knew that whatever news he was bringing was not good. It was then she noticed the headband he was clutching in his right hand. He set it on the table in front of all the Jounin sitting there, and stepped back. The headband bore a Konoha symbol, and they all recognized the few strands of bronze hair that still clung to it.

It was the Chunin's headband.

He was dead.

And the war had just taken a new turn.

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**Yay! Okay, maybe not yay, but still, the message has been delivered and Orochimaru's own men have probably failed to bring it to him in their eagerness to kill the Chunin, whose name I didn't make because it would make me feel more attached to him and more reluctant to have him die.**

**I thank Three Days Grace for their wonderful music that gets me through this story, and Linkin Park, and Nickelback, and the great country music, lol. **

**Again, if anyone knows of someone who could draw pictures of the characters in this story--particularly the picture of Sasuke that Kaede loves so much, I have a mental image but I would LOVE a visual one--that would be great. Seeing as this story is beginning to come to a close, I'd like to hear (again) what you'd like to see from me in another story. I had one KakashiXOC request, which I'm contemplating (thanks for the idea!), but I'd like to keep options open for others, too. **

**Luv ya, review!**

**Nicola**


	20. Chapter 19

**OMG. I'm on such a roll today that I don't know what to do with myself. I guess the prospect of going back to school already has be all jittery, cuz I've finished this chapter AND started the first chapter of my new fanfic.**

**Well, read and enjoy!**

**Nicola**

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**Chapter Nineteen: The Day Finally Arrives**

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow was the day that everything depended on.

The Chunin's death, the countless hours, days, months, years of planning, the sacrifice of lives and homes and family, the fear instilled in them all that kept them going strong—it all came to play. And tomorrow, it would all come together in the biggest battle any of them had ever faced. No one was speaking to each other, nerves jittery and last minute regrets or hesitations plaguing them all.

Everyone was in their respective rooms, sitting around and staring blankly at each other. They weren't really seeing those near them, only focusing on the battle that would start tomorrow morning, early.

Kaede wasn't one of those in the rooms.

She was in one of the storage closets in a hallway that was hardly traveled on. She knelt over a worn cardboard box she'd rustled up to store something important in, and this important something she was running her hands over, feeling its texture and letting it slide through her fingers.

The torn, still bloodstained black and red shirt and pants that went to her knees. She hadn't looked at these ever since taking them off after arriving in the underground the day that Orochimaru won. Nearly five years ago.

She took the shirt out first, fingering the slash on the back that she knew she'd have to sew before wearing it again. She looked at her own terrible job at shortening the sleeves and smiled, warmed by how bad she was at anything having to do with clothes. Shoot, half the time when they were in Konoha, Miki had picked her clothes out for her, saying she had no sense of fashion.

Then her hand hit something old and slightly crusty on the fabric, and she held it up to better see it. Blood stains.

She didn't know whose blood it was, whether her own or one of the many Sound ninja she'd slaughtered during the battle. She didn't feel any remorse for taking their lives—they'd fought her and threatened her village, and deserved whatever she could dish out to them.

She put the shirt aside, taking out the pants and testing the strength of the fabric on the legs. Good, it was still strong. Strong enough to take her wildest moves that she knew she'd have to use against Orochimaru and his guards. She laid the pants next to the shirt and solemnly looked down at the tattered remains of the wraps. There was nothing left to them, really, but she could find another set to use. Rock Lee had about a hundred he would be more than willing to allow her to borrow.

Since there was still the tear to take care of and a few other small holes, Kaede took the shirt and pants and stood up, thinking that Shizune might have a needle and some thread to use, preferably red. She wanted the tears to show out, to tell their story of the battle they'd come to exist because of. It would show that she hadn't forgotten.

She left the closet, closing the door quietly behind her, feeling herself sinking into her own reverie. Last time, Orochimaru had gotten the best of them. This time, she was positive that he wouldn't. Lives had been sacrificed for this; a mere child had run into the heat of war fully expecting to die. Countless ninja had fought hard to protect their village and had perished trying to do so, while their comrades continued to fight around them. People were still in the village, suffering because they remained loyal to Konoha. Kaede could think of no worse pain than those who lived like her mother—in fear and worry.

She would never have wished that on anyone, and to have caused it all…well, let's just say the guilt never goes away.

Having found Shizune in the medical room, and received a needle and thread from her, Kaede now sat in the room she shared with the other Jounin, slowly and jaggedly sewing the tears in her shirt and pants with white thread. White would stand out boldly against the black and red.

Still no one was speaking. Naruto was staring off into the abyss, his eyes locked on the ceiling, glazed over. Sakura sat next to him, fiddling with her gloves absentmindedly and mouthing something to herself. Rock Lee and Neji were both watching the floor at their feet; Miki was repeatedly stroking her hair; Hinata was twiddling her thumbs and swallowing; and Kaede sat sewing.

Her mind was wandering far away from this room, to the village that sat waiting for them to attack, to take it back. Orochimaru was probably sitting comfortably up in the office that was rightfully owned by Naruto, laughing at his successes and foul-mouthing those who still loved Konoha for what it had been. Kimimaro and Kabuto were most likely at his side, laughing along with him and contemplating where the remaining loyals were. And Sasuke…

Sasuke had not been around in ten days, having stayed in the Sound to guard Orochimaru at the snake Sannin's request. Kaede could just see the black-haired Uchiha standing with his hands in his pockets, listening to Orochimaru rave on about the Leaf village and how stupid and pathetic it was, and how much stronger the Sound was, and how he prevailed over them and how they didn't have a chance in hell to fight back and—Kaede stopped herself before she could work herself up into a fury.

Gaara, too, hadn't been around for a while. He had been preparing his village for the first attack before the sun would rise in the morning. He had sent his regards to her, though, and to those who would be fighting alongside the Sound ninja.

Kaede glanced over at the weathered old clock hanging on the wall, glaring at its ominously ticking hands. It was only noon—they were all to be in bed early, so as to be fresh for the fight. She listening to the tick-tick-tick the clock was emitting to the deathly silent room. If someone passed by the door, they probably wouldn't even realize anyone was in there, for the only thing you could hear was the clock.

Finally the gashes in the outfit Sasuke had bought her to wear for Konoha were sewn up, and Kaede set them aside, along with the needle and thread. Her hands were beginning to get clammy as the clock became almost antagonizing in its slow pace. Couldn't it go any faster so they would all be able to go to sleep? As if they could sleep, anyway, but trying to sleep would be something to do instead of sitting around worrying and wondering. Kaede blinked hard to turn her focus from the clock and wrung her hands.

Her fingers began to rap on the floor, impatient. She didn't stop them, nor did anyone notice the racket they were making. They were all too intent on their own thoughts to honestly care. Kaede continued her tapping, becoming more rapid as the minutes went by. She couldn't hear the ticking anymore, just the rapid _pat-pat-pat-pat-pat-pat _her own fingers were making. And slowly, unknowingly, she was bringing her friends out of the strange spell they were all under.

Naruto was the first to look over at the source of the patting that was gradually becoming a single hum. He blinked curiously at her, and began to chuckle for reasons Kaede couldn't imagine. His laughter pulled at Sakura and Shikamaru, who stared at him, wondering what he was laughing about, and then Miki and Rock Lee turned their heads to look at the chuckling Hokage. Neji and Hinata soon followed, and before they knew it, Naruto's laugh had begun spreading around the room. Even Neji was giving little low chuckles, and, at Miki's urging, began to laugh for real.

Kaede joined in, and stopped the thrumming to hold her sides. She hadn't laughed so hard in such a long time, and couldn't figure out why she was laughing at all! Her ribs ached under the pressure of her giggles, and she leaned over, thinking she'd hit Naruto's shoulder, but he moved at just the wrong moment and she hit the floor, bringing on a new bout of giggling and hooting.

Once they'd calmed down enough to sit up and begin speaking instead of chuckling, Naruto slung his arm around Sakura and pulled her into a long kiss. She kissed him back after only a moment's surprise. There was a chorus of "Awwww" that went through the room, and the two parted, blushing. At least, Sakura was blushing; Naruto was looking rather proud of himself.

"Sakura got it good!" Miki said, whistling. Sakura blushed an even deeper shade of red and buried her face in Naruto's shoulder. He hugged her with one arm and let her hide her face in his shirt. He chuckled lightly and kissed the top of her head.

Kaede watched all this with a smile on her face and a trace of envy in her chest. She was glad for Naruto and Kaede, and how happy they were, and that they knew they'd be together for as long as they lived, but she couldn't help but feel a little envious of their relationship. She'd had something like that with Sasuke, yet he was miles away now, and she didn't expect to see him fighting with them until morning came and she and Miki were infiltrating Orochimaru's office.

She brushed her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ears. There would be a time and place for reconciliation, but now was not that time. Maybe after the battle was through, and if and only if Konoha was back in its rightful place, she and Sasuke could try to start over. Maybe.

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That night, Kaede couldn't sleep, as no one else could. She tossed and turned under her thin blanket, wrestling with the butterflies in her stomach. She should not be nervous! She should be excited and confident, but she wasn't. She was upset and worrying about the battle, wondering if this really was the right thing to do, if this was really what her people needed.

Yes, she argued with herself. They needed their homes and the comfort the village brought them. They didn't need to be put through any more hell than they'd already been.

No, that nagging voice shot back. They didn't need to get their hopes up when it was obvious there was no chance of winning. It would hurt twice as much to take a blow like that after plans to rebuild the village had already been made and thoughts of home were already spinning through their minds.

Yes, they needed home. It would hurt worse to just know their village was giving up.

No, it would be worse for them to lose any more loved ones. They've already been put through so much.

Yes!

No!

Kaede flung her head back, pushing her pillow down and hitting the wall with the back of her head. She cursed under her breath and rubbed the spot, thinking how wonderful it was that she had a headache now to help her get to sleep. Ugh.

She rolled over again, onto her left side. Maybe she could get to sleep like this. She'd always slept on her left side, with Sasuke's chest pressing to her back and his arm around her waist. He would whisper sweet words in her ear and tighten his arm around her, telling her with gestures the things he couldn't bring himself to say. She would fall for it, too, and be asleep in no time with his warm body holding hers.

Finding that she was still uncomfortable, she rolled onto her right side, thinking that now she'd be facing Sasuke, with his lips lightly pressing against her forehead and her hands resting on his chest. He'd play with her hair, twirling it around his finger, tugging it without hurting her, pushing it away from her face. She would fall asleep with her head in the crook of his shoulder, using him as a warm, welcome pillow.

She moved onto her stomach, knowing that whenever she'd slept on her stomach, Sasuke had not come home until late. Maybe that would help her sleep better. But then, after he'd get home, he'd immediately climb into bed beside her and rub her between her shoulder blades, and even in her slumber she could feel him and hear him whisper how beautiful she was when she slept and how much he wished she were awake so that he could hold her.

Now on her back, she stared at the ceiling. Great, this was worse. The only time she could remember sleeping on her back like this was the second night Sasuke had not returned when he was supposed to. She had lain there, watching the shadows on the ceiling and wondering when he was going to get home. She'd wrapped the covers tightly around her and pressed a pillow to her side, trying to imagine that it was him sleeping right there next to her like he was supposed to be.

She groaned and sat up, rubbing her forehead and flinging the covers off of her. She stood up, and none of the Jounin said anything, though she knew they were all awake, too. As she walked towards the door, she felt Naruto's hand brush against her foot in a silent reminder not to do anything too rash, or go outside. She knew this, and tapped him with her toe in answer that she would remember.

Out in the hallway, she burst into a run, heading towards the sparring room and the punching bags there just waiting to be pounded. If she couldn't sleep, it would be better just to imagine Orochimaru's face on the punching bag and slam it to a pulp.



Kaede left the sparring room at around four in the morning, heading into the kitchen that was already crowded with ninja waiting for their call to head out. She poured herself a cup of hot tea, spruced it up a bit with a whole bunch of sugar, and moved to stand next to Miki, who was also sipping on tea.

"The Sand already start?" she asked, swirling a spoon in her cup to mix the sugar in with the tea. Miki nodded, not able to find words. She looked worried, her eyes wide and her face drawn. Kaede took a sip of her tea, watching her friend. "No worries, Miki. We'll kick their butts."

Miki tried to smile, but it came out in a grimace and she hastily attempted to cover it up by taking a big gulp of tea and choking on it. Kaede chuckled and took another sip.

"Yeah, I know," Miki replied as soon as she'd recovered. "But I can't help but be worried. This is it, the big fight we've all been waiting for."

"Yes it is," Kaede said, swirling her tea again. "And we're going to win, I can feel it. You may not yet, but once we get out there and start doing something, you'll know. Because we are, Miki. And this time, it's going to work out."

"Thanks, Kaede," Miki mumbled, and took a more controlled mouthful of her drink. "I'm sure you're right."

Naruto strode into the room then, and, still in his doggy pajamas, made his way groggily over to the tea. He poured himself a mug, took a sip of it, and was instantly awake. Sakura had to grab onto his arm to prevent him from shaking so bad that he'd spill his tea. He shook his head at his own nerves and looked around the room.

"Alright, everyone! It's time to get ready."

The reaction was immediate; all of the ninja stood up or pushed off the walls or counter and moved towards the door. Kaede was one of the last ones out, as she was planning on finding something else that she would be wearing. After a quick stop at her room, she went into the not-traveled-much hallway and entered one of the storage closets. Inside, she pushed away a few boxes and jugs of water, searching for the only thing Naruto had taken from her.

Two days ago, the Hokage had gone around and taken everyone's Leaf village headband, replacing it with a Sand one. It was to ensure that Orochimaru still took the attack as one from Suna, not Konoha, and that everyone was treated as such. It was known that Orochimaru would have anyone left from Konoha killed or tortured for information, and if they all had Sand headbands, it would be safer.

But Kaede had no intention of following that protocol.

Inside a large box filled with Leaf headbands, she dug around until she came up with the headband she'd gotten from Kakashi one Christmas. Its cloth ties were black and stitched in red. It matched her outfit, and she planned on switching the headbands as soon as she was in the village. She didn't care what risk she had to take, she was wearing it, and she knew that somehow, the other ninja would, too.

She found a full-length mirror in one of the other closets and propped it against the wall after changing. The white stitches on her shirt and pants stood out bright and bold, just how she wanted them to. Her headband, disguised with a special jutsu as a Sand headband, was tied across her forehead, and her hair was pulled back with her leather strap. White wraps ran down her legs and up her arms, and her black sandals were strapped tightly to her feet. She was ready.

Once she'd glanced in the mirror a second time, making sure everything was the way it was supposed to be, she ran down the hallway to the kitchen again, where everyone was waiting. Miki smiled as she saw the outfit and pounded fists with her friend. Kaede grinned back, loving the way Miki looked in her Jounin clothes. Everyone was wearing similar clothes with their own style added to it, but all of the vests were Sand vests. Kaede felt a wrench in her chest at the sight; it was like their heritage was being taken away from them for the biggest battle ever, the time they needed to cling to it the most.

She glared at Naruto from across the room, silently letting her know how she felt about it, and he nodded, seeming to agree. She knew it had been Gaara's idea to protect them that way, but she did not like it, and neither did Naruto, apparently. He made a chakra sign, and in several puffs of smoke, the disguises the ninja had put on their vests and headbands came off, revealing the trademark vest and symbol of Konoha on each of them. Even Kaede's jutsu was released, and she grinned at the Hokage.

He, too, had disguised his clothes.

They were waiting for the signal to leave, and Kaede was the most impatient of them all. It was almost time, why wasn't it coming? She wanted to get out there and fight, to do something, not stand in this kitchen when she could be out there taking back her village! And then, just as she was about to scream in frustration, it did. At least, for her and Miki and Tsunade and Jiraiya and Sakura it did.

Naruto motioned for each of them to come forward, and they stepped towards him. Miki stopped before she reached him and kissed Neji as if for the last time, which it might be. Sakura threw her arms around Naruto and hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go. Kaede watched all this with a heavy heart, praying and hoping with all she had that they would all come back alive.

With a short grunt and a heavy shove, Naruto released himself from Sakura and shook his head, letting her know he wouldn't stand for that behavior. He looked at the group that was about to leave; his gaze rested on Kaede, and he walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"We can do this," he said quietly to her.

"Yes we can," she replied, and they hugged for a moment. If anything happened to him, she thought to herself, she would personally kill the one who'd done it, with, of course, the assistance of Sakura, who'd probably want to kill him, too.

Miki and Kaede fled from the room before any more words could be said, and Miki glanced back over her shoulder for a fleeting moment. Kaede knew she was trying her hardest no to break down at the prospect of losing Neji, and she too felt the same way. Everyone in that room had a special place in her heart; she was not willing to let them go.

Their feet pounded on the hard earth that was the path leading to the underground entrance into Konoha. Kaede did not know how long it was, how far it was until they would reach the village, but she knew she wouldn't stop until they did. Miki ran alongside her, a look of determination that so matched Kaede's on her face. Her pale eyes stared straight ahead and her mouth twisted downwards in a firm frown. She ran harder, surpassing Kaede with ease and leading the way.

Kaede let her go, understand the kunoichi's need to burn off a bit of anger before the actual fight began. It was all going to be stealthy and quiet until the first attack went off. That would be from the first teams to enter Konoha through the entrances Tsunade was going to bust down. The second team would go through Jiraiya's tunnel, and the third through Sakura's.

Heart thudding rapidly in her chest, Kaede ran hot on Miki's heels, thinking of the amount of time they probably had left. They needed to preserve as much chakra as possible, and energy, for they had a limited amount of chakra pills with them. She had to make sure that Miki did not activate her Byakugan unless absolutely necessary, since it used up chakra at a pretty even pace. And she needed to keep her temper and thoughts of revenge under control. They both needed to save it for the big one, not the small troubles they were bound to encounter on the way.

Kaede could hear a bang from a little ways off, and knew that Tsunade had broken off the first barrier. Good, that meant they were close.

Miki had heard it, too, and was running faster. Kaede matched her pace with ease, having no trouble keeping up. Up ahead, she could see the turn Sasuke had warned her about, the one that would lead them straight to the entrance. It was a ladder, and on top of the ladder was a door of moss. They would have to perform the jutsu to break the undetectable seal on it, and clamber through without making a sound. It was a task fit for a ninja, and Kaede knew she and Miki could do it.

They rounded the corner, and Kaede saw the ladder.

It was a simple wooden ladder with worn and splintering rungs, but Kaede saw it as a ladder leading to the only chance Konoha had.

She went up first, building hand seals once she was at the top of the ladder to break the jutsu on the moss. She felt it rather than heard it break, and saw it creep away silently. She motioned for Miki to come on up, and clambered her way out as quietly as was possible. Miki followed her, and they found themselves just outside the wall of the Hokage temple.

Kaede held a finger to her lips to ask for silence as she stood slowly with her back against the wall. Miki did the same and shot a glance at her. The two had been friends for a long, long time, and Kaede trusted no one more.

Two guards stood at the entrance of the Kage tower that had once been Konoha's. Kaede fought back the rage building up in her at the thought of that horrible, wretched man sitting up in her old office, looking over her village. But in truth, this was her fault in the first place, and she'd be damned if she didn't fix it!

She had waited so long for this attack, so many long, torturous years, agonizingly waiting to launch the final attempt at bringing her village back to life. Five years ago, the whole thing had started. Orochimaru had mauled the village from top to bottom, sending in his followers to take down anyone that stepped in his way. She'd fought for the village, and for everything it stood for. They'd failed, and Konoha did not exist anymore. The Leaf village was extinct except in the hearts of those who remained faithful to it, and the Sound village reigned in its place.

Kaede chuckled lightly at the thought that Orochimaru was still living with the idea that there was no possible for those remaining Konoha villagers to fight back against his massive nation. And he was still holding onto the idea that he'd killed the Hokage of the Leaf Village. Sure, after the many fights and attempts to infiltrate the last remaining villagers' hideout, Orochimaru should have known that the Hokage still lived. But Sasuke had kept the secret, and he was oblivious. Kaede smirked smugly at the image of Orochimaru's shocked face when he found out he had not killed the Hokage. He couldn't hold onto "his" village forever, and she was there to make sure of it.

Miki uttered a small mew of frustration, eager to get this show on the road. The young Byakugan user was always this way—never patient, constantly urging everyone to hurry up already and finish whatever he or she were doing. Even after all those years underground, she hadn't changed.

Rolling her eyes, Kaede jerked her head in the direction of the two guards stationed at the entrance gate of the Hokage temple. Her nose wrinkled in anticipation, Miki activated her Byakugan and darted across the brown grass, her hand skimming the rough gray wall.

In a moment, both guards were on the ground, still and their bodies lifeless. Miki stood over them, a witch-y smirk souring her crisp, well-defined features. Her eyes went back to normal as she turned her Byakugan off and turned to her left where Kaede now stood, head tilted every so slightly to the side. Kaede's hazel eyes were locked on the window several stories above them where she knew the Hokage office was. A small movement, like the release of a drawn back curtain caught her eye, and she snarled. Orochimaru was watching.

Miki, come on," she snapped, and the Hyuga blinked in wide-eyed surprise at the harsh tone of her voice. Kaede set off at a pace too fast to be necessary for their present mission, all thoughts directed on getting to Orochimaru and kicking him out of her village.

As they ran across the deadened lawn, Kaede reached up and pulled the leather string she used to keep her hair tied up loose and shoved it in her pocket. Her now light-brown hair willowed around her face and she let it. As it settled over her face, blocking everything from sight except for her proudly displayed Kohnoha headband and her nose and mouth. Her face wasn't the most welcome here.

Orochimaru had failed to kill the Hokage once—she bet he wouldn't pass up the chance to correct his mistake and get rid of her for good.

The tall doors that would lead into the main hall of the temple leered ahead, and Kaede's eyes narrowed. She remembered every detail from the day when this all started, and wasn't hesitant to relive it whenever the thought of Kohnoha came to mind. Besides, this was all her fault in the first place.

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**Yay! We're back to where we started, in a good way!!! And thanks to my reviewers, you helped me get to this chapter tonight! I promise, it'll have a happy ending, this IS a SasukeXKaede fic, after all, lol.**

**Okay, for those of you who know i'm writing another story, as you all should know, I'm looking for titles. here is the summary:**

Returning to the village after seven years, Raiden Tomanoko, a young blonde Jounin in her twenties, is assigned to protect Sasuke and Naruto from Orochimaru and the Akatsuki along with Hatake Kakashi, with whom she's always rivaled with. But she has a mystery about her. The necklace she wears has a missing half, and she says she will never see the second half until her death. And for some reason, she reacts oddly whenever the Fourth Hokage is mentioned, and has been caught staring longingly at Naruto several times. What is this girl's deal, and how does Kakashi play into all of this? KakashiXOC

**okay, that's it. Need a title, thanks! Review, please! **

**Luv ya**

**Nicola**


	21. Chapter 20

**Okay, this is a landmark. YAY! The twentieth chapter of Konoha Hearts, and by far the quickets-moving and yet sort of saddest. I hope you all enjoy it. Once again, props to Three Days Grace, linkin park, and The All-American Rejects**

**Nicola**

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Kaede and Miki reached the huge doors that would swing open into the main hall of the Hokage temple, barely breathing hard as their run was momentarily halted. Kaede stared up at the doors, reached out in front of her, and shoved. With a loud creak, the doors slowly swung away from the frame, revealing the once-intricately designed hall where the Kage chair sat, pressed against a wall, overlooking the entire area.

Without a moment's hesitation, Kaede sprinted inside, feeling hatred course through her veins at the sight of the disaster that her temple had become. The hall was not designed in bright, strong colors, but dulled to gray-ish tones, the Sound symbol displayed everywhere. She could just feel Orochimaru's presence in the hall, and clenched her fists, already imagining smearing his blood on the marble floor.

She knew exactly where she was going—she'd traveled these hallways enough times to be able to do it with her eyes closed. Down the hallway on the side of the front room, up the spiraling staircase, down another hall. She counted the doors on each side until she rounded a corner and she and Miki came in view of the Kage's office.

But the closer they seemed to walk to the doors, the farther they seemed to get, and Miki was the first to react to the realization that they were trapped in a genjutsu. The Hyuga made a chakra sign, declared, "Release!" and the genjutsu broke. They were still in the main hall of the Hokage temple, but Kaede knew the genjutsu was only part of the normal defenses placed on the area to protect the temple at all costs. Why she hadn't remembered it before getting caught in it, she didn't know, but whatever. They were in.

It was then that she heard a soft, quiet, antagonizing laugh coming from beside the Hokage's chair. She glared into the shadows, recognizing the voice, and said, "Come on out, Kabuto."

The gray-haired Sound loyal stepped out from the shadow cast by the chair in the low light that was available in the main hall. Kaede moved immediately into a defensive position, knowing that Kabuto was not one to be reckoned with nicely. But before she could rush at him with the speed her Taijutsu provided her, Miki had stepped forward, her Byakugan once again on.

"I'll handle him, Kaede," she said in low, angry tones. "You go on ahead." Judging by the sound of Miki's voice, Kaede could tell that her friend was not fooling around, and immediately took off towards the hallway entrance at the same moment Miki began attacking Kabuto with her Juriken.

_He's probably let everyone else know that we're here, too. Damn it, now the other attacks have an even lesser chance of working. _Kaede's mind was whirring around at top speeds, rethinking the plan that she'd been told. She was to get upstairs to the Hokage office as quickly as possible, not let anyone interfere, keep out of sight. But now that Kabuto had seen them, and most likely set off the alert, she had no chance of being any more out of the sight than she already was.

She heard footsteps coming from the opposite direction, and made a chakra sign, disguising herself as a Sound ninja. The Sound shinobi dashing down the hallway gave her a strange look, as if wondering why she was heading that way when she should be going to other way, but kept on running, and the moment they were out of sight she dropped the disguise and increased her pace. She was getting close to the staircase, she could see it. If only she wouldn't get interrupted and forced to fight before she could get to Orochimaru…

And Sasuke needed to be told about the situation. He was, after all, on their side, and was participating in the fight. Hopefully, at least. She did not know if he would switch loyalties from Konoha back to the Sound, or if he'd warned the Sound about the attack and betrayed the trust he'd instilled in them all.

She cracked her neck, thinking that if he had betrayed them, betrayed Konoha, she would personally see to it that he died, but not after tasting a bit of the pain he would have caused them.

She reached the staircase just as a loud crashing bang echoed through the temple, and she closed her eyes, hoping it was another small victory by Konoha, not the Sound. She murmured a silent prayer for her comrades before leaping up the stairs, taking them two at a time. It was time to get this party started.



Up in the Kage office, Orochimaru sat with his chin propped on his palms, facing the young Uchiha man in front of him. Sasuke stood with a slight lift to his head, exuding superiority even towards the white-faced creep watching him. He stared evenly into Orochimaru's snake-like eyes, waiting for the man to say something.

He could hear the beginnings of the battle below, felt the building shake as someone caused massive damage. He would bet it was either Tsunade punching down the walls to get to those threatening her, or Kimimaro setting out his jutsu, Dance of the Seedling Ferns. He could just imagine the bone spikes jutting out of the ground and plunging high into the air, stabbing through anyone who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and who lacked the necessary speed and agility to escape. The few times that Kimimaro had been pushed to using that jutsu on Sasuke, the Uchiha had gotten away scot-free, and was rewarded for it with a few days of freedom.

"Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru said finally, his eyes never breaking Sasuke's gaze. "I want you to find the second Konoha ninja who infiltrated my and kill them. No, bring them to me. I wish to see them suffer under my own hands." Sasuke could see the fury building up in the snake Sannin, and nodded, turning on his heel to leave. Orochimaru's call stopped him.

"Yes?" he asked, eager to get down and find out what was going on, and if Miki or Kaede had stayed behind to fight Kabuto. He prayed that it were Kaede; he would have an easier time of fighting Miki than he would the determined ex-Hokage.

"Make sure you have your loyalties in the correct place, Sasuke-kun. You wouldn't want something to go terribly wrong for you." And, with that warning, Orochimaru laughed that maniacal laugh of his, and Sasuke suppressed the urge to shudder viciously.

He kept walking, through the door, and down the hallway that would lead to the staircase. If it was Kaede waiting for him, he knew what he had to do. He would not let Orochimaru hurt her.



Kaede reached the top of the stairs, panting slightly from the sheer exhilaration pumping adrenaline through her body. Orochimaru was so close, she could taste it, just down the hallway. She had been waiting for this moment for years, waiting to see Orochimaru's shocked face when he realized he had failed the kill her. She'd been waiting to take him by the neck, tell him just what she thought of him, and snap his collarbone in two.

She shivered with excitement at the very thought and pushed the door at the top of the stairs open. She stepped through the threshold, closed the door behind her, and looked up, finding herself suddenly face-to-face with Uchiha Sasuke.

A gasp escaped her mouth before she could stop it and she mentally kicked herself for that small sign of weakness. Sasuke smirked, one of his irritating smiles that she just couldn't stand, and she got into stance. She knew what his orders probably were, to give her a fight but not finish her off, save her for Orochimaru to torture.

"Well, let's get this over with, Uchiha," she said, straightening her headband and blowing a strand of hair out of her face. When he didn't make a move towards her, she stared at him in confusion. "What's the matter? Why aren't you attacking me? Didn't your master tell you to fight for him?" She was trying to taunt him, but for some reason her comments didn't seem to affect him much. He was staring at her face, his black eyes boring into her hazel ones.

It was almost as if he were contemplating something. Was he having second thoughts about joining Konoha?

But then, for the briefest of moments, time around them almost stopped. For that small millisecond in time, the expression of utmost love flashed over Sasuke's eyes, and Kaede couldn't stop staring in them, knowing the same look was freely showing on her face. And then…it was gone. The love was gone, and Sasuke was rushing at her, drawing out his sword.

She was barely able to block his furious and sudden attack, still stunned by what she'd seen in his eyes. She blocked or dodged everything he threw at her, and hardly noticed that his Sharingan was not activated. His eyes were still black, and they were purposefully avoiding hers. Using a kunai, she pushed back against the sword trying to slice off her arm. Why was he attacking so quickly and with so much hatred in his movements? Did she do something? Was it her comments that had egged him on, and why had she seen him looking at her in such a way?

"Sasuke, why are you doing this?!" Kaede managed to grunt out, still pressing against the sword. For using only one hand, Sasuke was extremely strong, and she did not know how much longer she could hold out against him like this. She'd never seen him fight with such precision and determination, not even against Naruto. What had gotten into him?

He pushed harder, adding his other hand to the hilt of the sword.

"Just let go, Kaede," he hissed, voice as calm and monotonous as ever. "You can't keep on like this. Just stop and it'll all be over."

"No!" With a burst of energy she hadn't known she'd possessed, she shoved Sasuke backwards down the hallway. He skidded but managed to stay on his feet, looking slightly surprised at her strength. She rushed at him, momentarily disappearing and appearing right in front of him, pressing a well-aimed fist into his jaw. He was sent backwards and crashed into the wall.

Kaede came at him again, refusing to let him get the upper hand again. She knocked his face sideways with the handle of her kunai, kicking him in the stomach at the same time and punching him in the jaw again. He slammed up against the wall, and she continued to pound him there, knowing just where his weak spots were.

She jumped back, finally satisfied with having bruised him up pretty good, and landed right on the outstretched let of the same Uchiha she thought she'd just beaten. His foot connected sharply with her back, sending her forward with a sickening jolt. She felt her back crack under the pressure and landed on her hands and knees, rolling over several times before coming to a stop.

Not even waiting to gain back the breath that had been knocked out of her, Kaede was up on her feet again and charging at Sasuke with eyes screaming her intent to kill. They met in a match of Taijutsu moves, punching and kicking and blocking and dodging with the great skills they both possessed. He aimed at her shoulder, she knocked it away and went for his stomach; he caught her knee and she side-kicked him to that he would release him; she tried to jab him in one of his pressure points, he caught her hand and twisted it around.

She leapt away from him again, trying to regain her composure before launching any more attacks on him. He was standing a distance from her, none the worse for wear, watching her with a mixture of emotions on her face. Not having the time to decipher those emotions, Kaede whipped out three kunai, throwing them out at the Uchiha. He blocked all three of them easy, but did not expect the three shadowed beneath them. He was only just able to stop them before she plunged at him, fist reared back. She let out a might yell, and her fist slammed into the side of his face.

The bones cracked and shattered under the force of her punch, she felt it. He flew backwards and hit the door to the Hokage's office, his head banging back against it. She rushed at him again, already planning on using him to bust through the heavy wooden doors that Orochimaru was hiding behind. The damn coward.

But then Sasuke wasn't there. Kaede stopped her mad dash and glanced cautiously around her. There was no sign of the Uchiha, except for the slight crack he'd made in the wood after flying into it.

And then, he was in front of her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a kiss she did not want. She struggled back, pushing against his chest and trying to get away from him. But in another second, she found herself falling into the kiss like she did every time, kissing him back and draping her arms around his neck. She did not feel him move his hand and draw his sword. She did not sense him raise it above her, nor did she notice that it was coming down at her fast.

The only thing she knew was that the kiss had ended, and Sasuke was flying down the hallway for the third time, his sword clattering to the ground.

Standing behind her, with his eyes set down in an angry scowl, was Naruto, watching as Neji padded down the hall after Sasuke. Kaede looked at the Hokage in confusion, but he shook his head and grabbed her shoulder roughly. They began walking rather calmly towards the two mahogany doors, Naruto's hand still on her shoulder, steering her.

She was in sort of a daze as they walked slowly down the hallway, almost mesmerized by the double doors she'd passed through so often. She knew the office inside like the back of her hand, with its wall of windows, wall of shelves filled with books and scrolls, comfy chairs and big wooden desk sitting right in the middle of it all. She'd always kept her desk neat and orderly, except for the week of her anniversary, the week that really mattered the most.

Walking down the hallway, she realized that it could just be a normal day, striding along with Miki at her side, laughing and cutting up as always, heading towards the office to do a bit of work and sign some scrolls. She could be coming back from a good sparring match, or a long stay on the roof, thinking things over.

But she wasn't.

She was in the middle of a war, walking down with Naruto to the Hokage's office to run the man who had taken the village over out and bring peace back to once used to be a humble place to live. She was walking to what might be her own death, or the death of her friends. She was leaving behind a quarreling Sasuke and Neji, who would probably fight to the death themselves. She worried that Sasuke might be killed, and was surprised to find that she held no feelings on the subject of Neji dying.

Naruto pushed the door open, Kaede next to him, standing as his guard, though Orochimaru might see it as the exact opposite. Either way, it was the Hokage of Konoha coming to see him accompanied by a protector. Kaede matched Naruto's pace as they approached the desk that Orochimaru sat behind, surveying them over his hands.

In a fury, Naruto grabbed the edge of the desk and shoved it to the side, the red eyes of the demon gleaming where his blue ones normally would've been. The desk skidded across the floor and smashed into the window, teetering precariously on the ledge. Orochimaru sat up immediately, startled and angry. Kaede moved automatically a little ways in front of Naruto, reached up to her face, and pulled her hair out of it.

The reaction from Orochimaru was instantaneous; he gasped and stepped backwards, knocking his chair out of the way and clenching his hands into fists. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.

"How can you be alive?" he snarled, and Naruto braced himself. "I watched you die! I killed you! I dropped you off of the roof of this very building! You are dead, I saw it!"

Kaede found herself laughing haughtily, and was taken aback by it. "No, Orochimaru, you didn't kill me. I'm here, aren't I? Alive and well."

"B-but…no, the Hokage of the Leaf Village is dead!" Orochimaru just didn't want to accept it, it seemed, and Kaede rolled her eyes.

"Orochimaru, stop being stupid. The Hokage is alive and well. In fact, the Hokage is in this very room."

"Yes, I am Hokage!" Orochimaru announced, laughing maniacally as his snake tongue flicked out and licked the corners of his mouth. "And there is nothing you can do about it! As of right now, Kimimaro is taking care of all your troops outside, and Kabuto has probably already apprehended the Hyuga girl. You have no chance of making it out of this office alive." This seemed to please him even more, and he threw his head back and laughed loudly, his insane giggles echoing off the walls.

Naruto chuckled, too, and Orochimaru glared at him, not enjoying his celebration being interrupted by a dumb Konoha ninja.

"Yes, Orochimaru, I don't' think I'll be leaving this office for a long time," Naruto said, smiling. "Seeing as I am the Hokage of the Leaf Village."

This started the fight.

It was Kaede and Naruto versus Orochimaru, two Sannin-level ninja from the Leaf village against the Sannin that had created the Sound, fighting for the village they both claimed to own. Kaede threw her best Taijutsu moves at Orochimaru, who blocked and dodged them with ease. Naruto used his Shadow Clones to distract him while Kaede punched him in the back of the head. The shadow clones returned the stand next to Naruto, who Kaede saw focusing his chakra into his two hands. With the assistance of the clones, he began building up a Rasengan in each hand, simultaneously having three of his other clones do the same thing, one Rasengan ball per clone.

Kaede chose this time to distract Orochimaru from Naruto. It was almost too late—the Sannin was about to turn his head and see. Kaede flung herself at the wretched man, tackling him to the ground and punching him as fast as she could. She kept one eye, her good eye, on Naruto to make sure he was still going, and that no one had interrupted him. Orochimaru grabbed her throat, but she kept her body in front of him, blocking his sight. Her curse seal burned under his touch, and she fought back the screams threatening to come out. She needed to keep going, no matter what pain she was in.

She heard a crash and a scream from down the hallway, and hoped that her friends were alright. She grabbed onto Orochimaru's wrist, clenching it in her strong hands and crushing the bone. He cried out, dropped her, and the moment she went to stand back up, snakes wrapped around her, emitting from Orochimaru's sleeved arm. They twisted around her torso, pinning her arms to her sides, and squeezed. She felt them constricting her airway and felt her bones grinding against each other.

By now, she was running out of oomph. The adrenaline rush from earlier had begun to dwindle during her fight with Sasuke, and now, struggling in Orochimaru's snakes, she felt her chakra coming down to its last.

She hadn't thought it would end like this, not so easily, not after such a quick fight that she'd needed assistance in. She'd imagined it going down to the very last, she and Orochimaru both running out of chakra and resolve, to the last move they both would make. Not with Orochimaru crushing her to death, still retaining massive amounts of fight while she fought to stay conscious. If only she could reach her little pouch holding her chakra pills…

"Hrrrruuuuaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!"

Naruto's battle cry reached her ears coming from multiple directions, and she hardly heard Orochimaru's screams as the Rasengan hit him from all sides. Kaede felt the snakes slip off of her as Orochimaru was flung into the air, then out the window. She and Naruto both rushed over to the window to see him crashing down onto the hard earth below. His mangled body lay there, twisted in an odd position, and then…it faded.

Kaede gasped, and Naruto had to restrain her from jumping out the window herself. The man that had been flung out of the window was not Orochimaru, but a simple civilian used as a shadow clone, controlled unwillingly by the snake Sannin. Kaede knew this jutsu—whenever the man begged for them to stop, some snide comment would come out of his mouth instead, or a jutsu, and his cries would be lost. He wouldn't have understood why they didn't stop attacking him, nor why he was fighting back. He would merely be forced to do whatever Orochimaru pleased him to.

"It was Orochimaru," Kaede gasped, popping a chakra pill into her mouth, "in the beginning. I should've seen it and recognized what he was doing. Right when he grabbed onto my throat, I jerked my head and he saw you building up your Rasengan. And that's when he did it. I don't know where he found the man to do it, but he did, and he got away."

"But doesn't that mean he left the village?" Naruto said, staring down at the man they'd believed to be Orochimaru. "And that would mean his solemn vow to protect it would be broken. He has given up, in other words."

Kaede felt a grin spread across her face for the first time that day, and she looked up at Naruto's stone face. "Does that mean we have Konoha back?"

"We'll have to see," he whispered, and took off out the two double doors again. Kaede shot after him, feeling a new, unexpected burst of energy. Was this really it? Had it really been all that easy, to fight back and have Orochimaru run? Please, please let it be true!

Kaede and Naruto found, as they ran down the hallway, several of the Konoha ninja, both injured and unharmed. But, to their glee, they saw more and more fallen Sound shinobi. Kaede caught glimpses of Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai (whom she hadn't even known was still alive), a few other Konoha ninja she recognized, and Jiraiya. They pounded down the stairs, and into the bottom floor hallway. There Tsunade was punching the last of the Sound ninja into the wall, cracking it in several places. She waved to them as they passed, and Kaede searched frantically for Miki in the main hall. She saw her friend bleeding from the mouth and a wound on her head, but alive. The Hyuga managed a small smile as Kaede passed, and Kaede knelt for a word.

They embraced.

"Are you alright? Did Kabuto hurt you too bad?" Kaede asked, worried. Miki chuckled weakly and scooted up into a better sitting position instead of slumping on the wall.

"Yeah, I'm fine. And if you're looking for Kabuto, he's over there," she pointed, and Kaede could barely make out the figure of the young medical ninja in a rather large crater in the wall.

"Tsunade?"  
"Tsunade."

They laughed, and Kaede stood up. "I think we've won, Miki."  
"Hey, Kaede, you were right," Miki said as Kaede started to move after Naruto. "I did feel it when we got here. I knew we were going to win."

Kaede smiled, her heart warming, and took off after the Hokage. She'd barely caught up to him when she saw Shikamaru tending to a small wound on his arm. He lifted his hand in a lazy wave, and she grinned back. A few feet away from Shikamaru was Sakura, helping the wounded Konoha shinobi. Her hands glowed with chakra, and she looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps, her green eyes hopeful.

Sakura's eyes caught Naruto's, and she jumped up from the ninja she was healing, dashed over to him, and flung her arms around his neck, obviously sobbing. Kaede watched the little reunion with a small bit of envy, until her gaze moved to the bone spikes jutting out of the ground.

Kimimaro was not in sight anywhere, no matter how hard she looked. She'd known about his long battle with leukemia, and his loyalty to Orochimaru that went as far as putting his life on the line. She wondered if this had finally ended it for the brave ninja.

"Kaede!"  
Turning her head, Kaede looked to see who had called her name, and cried out in joy. Walking over to her, his deep red robes flying around him, the Kazekage smiled. She ran at him, pulling him into a hug the moment she reached him. Gaara hugged her back tightly, picking her up and twirling her around. She laughed as he set her back on her feet and she stared up into those green-blue eyes.

"You're okay," he said softly, brushing her hair back. She smiled at his touch.

"Yes, and so are you. I didn't expect you to come and fight."  
Gaara looked insulted. "So you thought that I would not have come out and risked my own life to protect my village and yours? You must remember, I am Kazekage."

"Sorry," she mumbled, ashamed. "I didn't mean to imply…"

Gaara chuckled, and she looked up, aghast. Did he just laugh? "Don't worry, I was joking. And apparently I was pretty convincing."

Kaede managed a small smile back, still a little shocked, and asked, "Were you the one who finished of Kimimaro?"  
Gaara frowned. "Not necessarily. The effects of his leukemia came with his bone spike right at the tip of my nose. He died of his own disease, I had nothing to do with it."

Nodding, Kaede took a step away from him. "I've got to head out and check on everyone else, okay?" Gaara smiled and waved her off, and she hurried over to where Naruto was waiting for her. Sakura had gone back to helping the ninja.

"I don't see any sign of Orochimaru coming back," he said as they jogged lightly out of the courtyard into the streets.

"Neither do I," she agreed, and they slowed to a walk. Naruto turned around and looked back at the Hokage temple. He sighed, and put an arm around her shoulder. They began to walk towards the building, where Naruto had an announcement for the village. Kaede knew what he was going to see, and it made her feel absolutely wonderful inside. This war was finally over, it seemed. Maybe her faraway wishes weren't so far away now.

That was when it occurred to her—she had not seen neither Neji or Sasuke on their way out of the temple. Where were they? What had happened to them? Oh, please, let them be alive!

Kaede shrugged out of Naruto's arm and ran at the temple, all thoughts centered on reaching the building and finding Sasuke. He couldn't have gone off with Orochimaru, no, that was impossible. He was on their side, he'd helped them take back the village. Even though he'd attacked her, she knew he would have a good reason for it !

She did not know how she made it back to the staircase, but she did, and she was pounding up it with everything she had. She made it to the top of the stairs, pushed open the door, and took a deep breath. The scene was the same as she remembered it, Konoha ninja milling about, Sound ninja lying lifeless on the ground.

But where was Sasuke?

She frantically ran up and down the hallway, trying to think of the last time she'd seen him. Neji had thrown him back, right near the corner to another hallway…She darted towards that turn in the long strip of carpeted hall, skidding along and pushing off the opposite wall as she turned.

And there they were.

Neji was standing next to Sasuke, who was bleeding lightly out of the corner of his mouth, but up and alive nonetheless. At the sound of her approach, Neji looked round, his eyes hopeful and inquiring.

"Downstairs, in the main hall. She's alive," Kaede answered his silent question, and Neji nodded, taking off for the stairs. Kaede watched him go for a moment, then turned to look back at Sasuke.

The Uchiha was wiping the blood off of his chin and rubbing his jaw where she knew he'd be bruised. She smiled sheepishly and took a step towards him. He took a step back. She stopped, insulted, and looked down at her feet. She shoved her hands in the pockets of the outfit he'd given her so many years ago and kicked at the carpet with her toe.

She didn't hear him approach her, but she felt him brush against her shoulder as he walked by, and she looked up. She watched him walk down the hallway and round the corner, and he stopped for a moment. The second that his eyes met hers she saw that same loving look in them, and then it was over, and he kept walking. She ran after him, a cry of "Sasuke!" on her lips, but he was already gone.



Naruto stood on the roof of the Hokage temple, the red and white Hokage hat on his head, billowing around his face. He was grinning from ear to ear as the citizens of Konoha cheered for him. Men, women, children of all ages thrust their fists into the air and shouted their joy. Kaede watched all this silently, standing just behind the Hokage with a smile on her face.

It was later that day, after the citizens had been let up from the underground into the first rays of sunshine they'd seen in five years. All of those who had remained in Konoha had rejoiced in their return and the victory. Families were back together, friends were embracing, and homes were starting to be restored.

"Today, the Village Hidden in the Leaves conquered over the shinobi from the Sound village! We have won back our home, and we will never let it go!"

Even louder cheers, if that were possible, erupted from the crowd as Naruto waved and punched the air. Kaede stepped backwards, turned, and walked back into the temple, feeling elated but still a little disappointed. She'd imagined after the fight, after Konoha had been won back, she and Sasuke just getting back together and starting all over. But apparently that was not the way it was meant to work out. She sighed heavily as she walked down the stairs towards the outside. Right now, all she wanted was to go home and crawl into the bed she hadn't slept in for years.

Her feet carried her the long way around the crowd, heading towards the Uchiha district. She wanted nothing more than the only real home she'd ever known. The streets were oddly empty, as everyone was at Naruto's speech giving. That made traveling to the abandoned Uchiha district easier, and when she reached the rusty gates, she pushed them open, already feeling better.

Once again, she noticed the similarity between all the houses and watched the Uchiha fans until she came to the one with the crack in it across from her home. She walked up the steps, kicked off her shoes, and pushed open the door. It was still extremely dusty, and she made a note to get to work cleaning it whenever she had a spare moment, for she planned to help rebuild the village.

No one else was there, as she expected, and she sat down on the old couch, putting her feet up and leaning back against the pillows. The surface was a little rough feeling from the thin layer of dust coating the fabric, and she brushed most of it off to make it more comfortable.

She nestled into the pillows, relishing the feel of being home on her own couch again. The cushions warmed almost immediately from her body, and she felt herself growing wearier and wearier, until her eyelids were so heavy….

* * *

**Whoo! That was a load of writing and song-listening and procrastinating and backspacing and rewriting...well, you get it. Anyway, thank you for the suggestions on titles, I'm thinking on a few, next chapter I'll give em to you for you to choose. Of course, my personal opinion will play a part, too.**

**Luv ya, and review!**

**Nicola**


	22. Chapter 21

**OMG. This has been, officially, the WORST two weeks of my life. First, I come to the realization that school is coming, and then my computer literally blows up in my face and my dad has to work on it forever. It's fixed though, hence the update, and thank you all for my reviews! I loved it so much!!!**

**Luv ya**

**Nicola**

* * *

Heaving another long slab of wood over her head and into the waiting hands of the man on the roof of his shop, Kaede let out a heavy sigh. It was a week after they had taken back Konoha, and the reconstruction of the village had begun. Today was Sunday, and there wasn't a single person, man, woman, or child, who was not working. Kaede was assisting an older man and his son fix up their trinket shop a few buildings down from the ramen place that Naruto was enthusiastically helping with.

She wiped her brow and tightened her brown ponytail, jumping onto the roof with a hammer and nails. She tossed a few of the nails to the man's son and began hammering the wood slab in on one side while he did the other. As soon as it was in place, she jumped down again and passed up another board. She'd been doing this all morning, and the place was looking pretty good. The elderly man was watching, supervising, really, and nodded his approval when she leapt down for another board.

A smile was on her face, the product of hours and hours of hard work that she truly felt good about doing. For the past few days she'd helped out wherever it was needed, clearing trash and broken wood from the streets, repairing bashed in roofs, replacing front doors and windows, building new walls for the stores, fixing the damage done to the Hokage temple.

Kaede shook both of the men's hands and bid them goodbye, planning on going to her house and doing a little bit of damage control. She strolled down the streets, joy filling her heart at the sight of everyone working together to rebuild the village. They were all ecstatic at being home again, and Kaede understood just how they felt: elation, but somber elation, because they had still lost loved ones.

As she walked down the street towards the Uchiha district, she saw Shikamaru helping rebuild the Yamanaka's flower shop. She knew he was doing so in honor of his old teammate, Yamanaka Ino, who had died during the first battle. A few days ago, he'd explained this to her, and assured her that "the man who killed her had been done justice to." She grinned even wider, laughing inside as she imagined Shikamaru slaughtering a Sound ninja for revenge.

"Hey, Kaede!" Kaede turned at the sound of her name and laughed as Konohamaru came bounding up to greet her. She hadn't seen much of the exuberant young man while they were underground, and it was good to see him dashing about like he'd used to. He was a strong nineteen, almost twenty, and he loved to strut around because of it; like Naruto, he dreamed of being Hokage some day. Kaede encouraged him whenever she could to pursue it. She knew he could do it.

"Hey, Konohamaru," she said, pulling him into a quick hug. "How have you been this past week?"  
Konohamaru grinned widely. "Great! Everything's going to smoothly since we've been back, and everyone's settling in just as easily as if they'd all been on vacation, except for the whole reconstruction thing." Kaede laughed, and Konohamaru's face turned thoughtful. "You know, I was wondering about something." He caught her gaze and held it. "What ever happened to you and Sasuke? I know he helped out in the war, but he did betray us and all, so I still don't see how Naruto could take him back like that."  
Kaede bit her lip and tried to think of the right thing to say. She juggled with a few things before answering, "Well, Sasuke really did help out a lot with planning this battle. Without him, we'd probably still be underground." She sighed. "As for me and him, it's pretty much over. It has been for a few years now, and don't think we'll ever get back together." She smiled a little sadly at him. "Of course, that doesn't stop me from hoping."

Appearing as if he were thinking seriously about something, Konohamaru waved a quick goodbye to her and set off the way he'd came, probably going to help Naruto at the ramen shop or something. Kaede watched him go, wondering where the questions about Sasuke had come from. Oh, well, he was probably just being inquisitive.

She continued to walk down the street, able to see the gates leading into the Uchiha district already. Konoha hadn't really changed that much, and she hadn't known she'd walked so far in such a short amount of time, and could barely remember taking the turn down this street. She chuckled at her distracted state, amazed at how she still knew the village like the back of her hand and barely noticed it.

Her hand rested on the gates of the Uchiha district, staring down at a handprint in the rust that she hadn't made. It wasn't hers, or anyone's that she could think of that she remembered. There actually wasn't anyone that she figured would go into the Uchiha district other than herself and Sasuke, and he most definitely wouldn't. He had no reason to.

Curious, she pushed open the gates and began to walk slowly down the dusty street, peering at each of the houses in turn, checking for signs of forced entry. She couldn't come up with one reason to break into a house in the Uchiha district, but maybe it was because she remained loyal to the clan even if she never knew any of them outside of Sasuke.

She made it to her house, and saw that the front door was slightly ajar. She bristled, thinking that whoever was inside would be getting one hell of an ass beating. This was her home, and it had been taken away once before. She'd be damned if she'd let someone rob it blind, too.

Not even caring to kick her shoes off, she silently stalked into the house, moving through the front room into the living room, where she could see that the dust was stirred up more than it had been this morning when she'd left. She walked into the kitchen, looked around for a moment, and headed back to the bedrooms. She glanced into Itachi's old room—which was normally closed off to everyone—and in Sasuke's parents' old bedroom. No one there.

The only rooms left were the bathroom and her room. She didn't think anyone would be in the bathroom, so she headed for the door on the end on the right. She saw it was open, and she knew she'd closed it. Pulling a kunai from the pouch at her waist, she pressed her back against the wall and moved inside the room.

She dropped the kunai.

Kneeling in front of the box she'd stupidly left out, picking through the photographs she hadn't burned and the few items she had felt close enough to that she never wanted to look at again was Sasuke, and he was holding her favorite picture of him.

After returning to her home, Kaede had placed the photograph back in the box on top of a bouquet of dead roses Sasuke had once given her for her birthday. She'd hoped it would stay there, never to be looked at by anyone but her self again. And now here was Sasuke, looking tenderly at the photo and shaking his head, a small smile on his face.

The kunai clattered onto the floor, and Sasuke looked up, throwing the picture back into the box. For a moment they stared at each other, and then Sasuke stood, shoving his hand in his pocket in a very Sasuke-ish manner. She couldn't help but smile at the gesture, and leaned against the doorframe, feigning comfort.

"What're you doing here?" she asked casually, adding a touch of unpleasant welcome in her tone.

"My house," he answered, taking a step towards her and pushing the box aside with his foot.

She shook her head. "As I recall, you handed ownership of this house to me when you left for Orochimaru. And, since I haven't given it back, it's still my house."

Sasuke visibly winced at her snide comment and walked until they were only two feet apart. She stared up into his black eyes stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest and holding his gaze. He didn't stop looking at her, seeming to not blink at all. Kaede felt her heart beat speed up, and her mind whirr with the possibilities. Their relationship couldn't be over for good, it just couldn't. They could start over together, begin a new life in the restored village and live happily together until they became wrinkled and spend their older years together and play with little grandchildren on their laps and tell them stories of the Great Battle for Konoha and…

She felt the tears spring to her eyes as these thoughts ran through her mind and sniffed, not embarrassed to cry in front of him anymore. She reached a hand up and brushed away the tear that had begun to trickle down her face, and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to at least stem the flow a little bit before it became flat-out water works that just wouldn't stop. She sniffed again and felt more tears slide down her face, but her eyes never unlocked their gaze from Sasuke's.

He took another step forward, they were a foot apart. He reached out and placed his warm hand on her shaking shoulder. She flinched at his touch, not expecting the shock that went through her body when their skin made contact. He held his hand there, acting as though he had not felt her movement away from his touch. She took a shaky breath and pinched her nose again; why wouldn't she stop crying?

Flashes of their breakup screamed through her head, him telling her that he wanted her to stay, her telling him she couldn't and they couldn't be together as long as their loyalties lie on two different sides. Handing him the necklace, kissing him for the last time as a couple, jumping away. Having to face him at least once a week, unable to meet his eyes every time he came into a room, kissing him and then regretting it, hearing his jealousy of Gaara even though there was nothing to be jealous of…

Sasuke almost seemed to hear her thoughts and came closer, so that their chests were almost touching, and she was looking up at him, he down at her. It seemed like just yesterday they'd been two pieces of a whole person, everything had felt so right, like nothing could go wrong in the world.

Through her tears, she managed to speak. "Well, here I am, Sasuke," she gasped out, forcing herself to control her rapid breathing. "What now?"

"This."

He leaned his head down towards her and kissed her.

A vicious but welcome shock shot through her whole body and she grabbed onto his shirt, gripping the fabric in her fists and kissing him back with all she had. He wrapped one arm around her waist, the other holding the back of her head. His lips were so soft and warm, so loving, so needing. She felt every emotion from the past two and a half years in his kiss, the pain it caused him to stay away from her for so long, the love he felt for her, the longing to pull her into his arms and hold her the way Gaara did, but as more than just a friend.

They pulled apart, reluctantly, and Kaede buried her head into his chest. He pulled her closer to him, if that was possible, and held her there. She found that she was no longer crying, but smiling into Sasuke's black t-shirt. He was slowly rocking her back and forth, and to her surprise, he swept her up in to his arms, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, her face still buried in his shoulder. He held her under her hips and around her back, carrying her over to the bed where he laid them both down. She curled up against his chest and sighed, feeling as if she were finally at home.

He rubbed her back gently, kissing her on the forehead and breathing in the scent of her hair. She pressed her hands to his chest and kissed his collarbone, relishing the feel of him next to her, holding her. How long she'd waited for this to happen, how long she'd waited to be in his arms again. She sighed against his shirt and closed her eyes, finally at peace.



When she woke up again, it was early evening. She recalled coming home around noon and finding Sasuke. They had kissed, embraced, laid together. But…she didn't feel his warmth next to her!

She shot up like she was on a springboard and saw that the window was open, the curtains drawn back, a slight breeze blowing in. As she sat up, she realized she was in one of Sasuke's shirts, a pair of sleep shorts, and under the covers. Her heart warmed, thinking that he must have done that for her. She stretched, and looked around the room again, expecting to see two-inch layers of dust everywhere. But there was none. And the room was absolutely spotless.

A smile creased her face as she came to the conclusion that Sasuke must have cleaned up for her. She swung her legs out of the bed and padded to the door, barefoot and happy. The door was open a crack, and she peered out into a sparkling wood hallway. She murmured her "aww" of appreciation and walked down the hallway, hearing someone in the kitchen. The living room, too, was spotlessly clean, she noticed as she passed through it to get to her destination.

Sasuke was in the kitchen, lighting up the two candles on the table, the lights dimmed down low and two plates complete with silverware set on the two sides of the table. She smiled even more and walked over to Sasuke, rubbing his shoulder. He took her hand in his and kissed it, leading her over to her chair and pulling it out for her. She sat down as he pushed the chair in and walked over to the plate of chicken on the counter. He placed a leg and a breast on her plate, the same for him along plus a wing, and scooped potatoes onto both.

As soon as he'd sat down, she picked up her fork and set to taking off a piece of her chicken. Sasuke worked on his potatoes, and they ate in comfortable, happy silence.

After a moment, Kaede looked up to see Sasuke staring at her. She looked down and blushed

."I don't know how I ever left you," he said quietly, "or let you go. You're so beautiful."

Feeling a lump rising in her throat, and not knowing what to say, Kaede shoved another mouthful of potatoes into her mouth. She stared down at her plate, slightly ashamed of herself, and heard Sasuke chuckle. Her cheeks began to color as she picked at her food with her fork.

"What're you laughing at?" she muttered, moving her fork around in swirls in her potatoes.

"You," he answered nonchalantly, and Kaede heard him set down his fork and spoon. She felt his eyes boring into the top of her head. "You don't need to act embarrassed or anything. You know how I feel about you."

"Yeah, but you've never said it," Kaede grumbled, her tone only slightly hinting. Sasuke sighed and scooted his chair back, getting up. Kaede licked her lips and stole a glance to see what he was doing. He had moved to the counter and was leaning against it, watching her with those black eyes of his. She couldn't tear her eyes away, though, and continued to stare at him.

"Kaede," he said finally, softly. "I'd hoped you would understand how hard it is for me to…admit to caring about someone so much. It sort of…gives me another reason to want to protect you by forgetting about you." Kaede's eyes widened, but she didn't say a thing. "My brother took everything away from me, you know that. And I can't help but stray away from anything he could banish from my life forever. Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi…they're all I have left. But you…I couldn't imagine living without you again."

Kaede did understand, and she knew how much it hurt for Sasuke to get close to another person. But that wouldn't change how she felt about him. She loved him with all her heart, she would throw herself in front of a torrent of kunai if it would keep him alive. She gave up on him before because of the village. Now, though, that would all change. He was her Sasuke, and hers alone.

Slowly, she nodded and stood up, taking the few steps to the counter to stand in front of him. "I understand, Sasuke. Don't worry, I was just being stupid."

He smirked and pulled her to him in a firm hug. "You're never stupid. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, you know that? It would be hard to survive without you by my side."

A little bit startled from the abrupt proclamation of his feelings, Kaede hugged him back and murmured into his shirt, "So we're starting over again?"

A laugh rumbled through Sasuke's chest. "Yes, we are."



Two days later, Kaede and Sasuke were at the Hokage temple, assisting on the reconstruction of the walls, roof, and gates. Sakura and Tsunade had done some pretty good damage busting through the walls into the main hall. And yes, they bragged about it. At least, Tsunade did.

Kaede was at the gates, hammering the hinges into place, when Miki strode up, looking way too happy for a girl that had just finished working nine hours fixing the tea shop. Suspicious, Kaede greeted her friend with a half-hearted wave and watched her with wary eyes.

"What're you all smiles about?" she asked, twirling the hammer in her hand and placing it back in her belt, having a feeling that this was going to take a while.

Miki merely trilled happily, spun around, and leaned against the repaired part of the gate. Kaede winced, hoping the hinges weren't too loose. Otherwise, she'd have to go back and fix them again.

"So? Why are you dancing around and singing? You know how you can't sing," Kaede said seriously, and Miki replied with another bout of humming. Kaede growled under her breath and said, in her most authoritative voice, "Damn it, Miki, you tell me right now what is going on or I swear I'll chase you all over with my hammer and pound you until you do."

Miki blinked in surprise at the threat, and shrugged half-heartedly. "Alright." But she was silent after that.

It was a moment before Kaede noticed her friend was brandishing her left hand, twirling it around so that the sunlight glinted off of something on her ring finger. Irritated that Miki wouldn't stop moving around, Kaede grabbed her wrist and held it still. She gasped and dropped the hand, staring at Miki in shock.

There was a ring on her finger. A ring, with a diamond, a real ring!

At the same time, Kaede and Miki erupted into squeals and yells of excitement, grabbed each other's hands, and jumped up and down, crying, "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!"

They screamed again before one of the men working on the other side of the gate glared at them. Settling down, Kaede looked at the ring again. It was a simple silver band with a medium-sized diamond set on it, flanked on either side with a smaller rock. Kaede loved it, its simplicity, its beauty, its meaning. And she knew just who had given it to her.

"Neji proposed, oh my God," Kaede said softly, unable to tear her eyes away from the ring. "When?"

"This morning," Miki answered. "I woke up, and there was this note on his pillow, and it said, like, 'Meet me in the veranda,' so I got dressed and fixed my hair—cause I like to look cute when I'm around him—and he was there, in his official Hyuga robes, waiting. And then, we sat for a few minutes, just kind of sitting there, and he pulled this box out of his pocket and he got down on one knee, and said, 'Marry me, Hyuga Miki. Marry me.'"

"Awww!" Kaede squealed, and hugged her best friend. "That's so sweet!"

"Isn't it?" Miki looked fondly down at the ring, then back up with a new, mischievous glint to her eyes. "Guess what I heard?"

"What?"

"I heard that Naruto was down at the local jewelry store a few days ago, looking at rings, and yesterday he came out with a tiny little bag with something that looked like the shape of the box rings come in!"

Kaede shook her head. "Whatever Naruto was doing isn't your business, and besides, I know that Sakura isn't ready to get married. She heard about him going down there, too, and was telling me how she didn't want to seal their commitment right now."

Miki's face fell. "Oh. Poor Naruto. I hope he doesn't crack the question anytime soon, because he'll get turned down."

Once again, Kaede shook her head no. "No, that's not what I said. I said Sakura isn't ready to get married right now, but that doesn't mean she won't get engaged. Just because someone asks you to marry them doesn't mean that you have to have the wedding as soon as possible. She'll probably put it off until Konoha is really back into shape again. She knows how important the village is to Naruto, and she doesn't want him to rush things because of her."

"Hmm, good point. Wow, I wish I thought things through as much as Sakura," Miki said thoughtfully. "Oh, well. I'm going to go tell her, and then Tsunade, and then everyone else! I'm so excited!"  
And she was off.

Kaede went back to making sure the hinges were in place, and her mind began whirring again. Miki was getting married to Neji. Wow, hadn't that been quick? They'd only been together for a few years, not nearly as long as Sakura and Naruto, or herself and Sasuke. It seemed to be rushing it a little bit, but as long as they were happy, she didn't care; she'd go to the wedding and support them as much as she could.

She wondered what would happen after her two friends married. They would probably want to have children, she guessed, and more than one. They'd want to live in a quiet little home around the other Hyuga's and raise their kids and spend the rest of their lives together, as traditional. Kaede smiled at the thought, and couldn't help but picture Naruto and Sakura as married. She could just see tiny little Naruto minis running around and getting into all sorts of trouble, and tiny little Sakura minis attempting to control them with whacks on the head. Naruto would take his kids to the ramen shop and have them addicted on the stuff, too, and Sakura would make sure the children were raised properly and trained under a careful, watching eye. Kaede laughed at the image of a small blonde boy with green eyes grinning sheepishly up at his gray-haired sensei.

Of course, she and Sasuke could be in that position, too, in a few years. Not any time soon, though, because she knew they weren't quite put back together like they had been. Still, it was nice to picture little Sasuke's running around the house. She shook her head fervently. No, she shouldn't think like that. Her and Sasuke's relationship was still a bit rocky, and pushing towards something like marriage and children would only topple them over and cause another crash-and-burn episode.

That didn't mean it couldn't happen in the future, but right now, it would only be an unsettling, useless experience.

After she was positive the gates were secure, Kaede headed off to talk to Naruto for a little while. It would make her feel better if she could see the Hokage and speak to him about all of her worries. He would understand. And she hoped that he would still be all for Sasuke's remaining in the village. Orochimaru had to know that his apprentice had left him for good, seeing as he'd assisted in the attack. Somewhat.

The main hall was almost completely fixed, and the stairs were no longer smeared with dirt, blood, and a menagerie of other things. The gaping holes in the walls had been filled, the scratches had been painted over, and all the weaponry sticking out from the plaster had been removed. Kaede trailed her hand along the side of the wall as she padded down the hallway towards the Hokage's office. Naruto was most likely in there, working on some paper or another, and would eagerly accept her interruption. He was not one for liking paperwork.

The door was already ajar when she turned the corner, and she walked in, knocking once on the wood to make sure Naruto expected her approach. The blonde was, of course, debating over if his hand was too sore to sign this particular document, and his whole face lit up at the momentary distraction. He waved eagerly at the chair in front of his desk, and Kaede sat down, grinning.

"So, what's up?" the Hokage asked, stretching back and putting his hands behind his head. "Anything new?" He reached for his cup of hot tea.  
"Well…Neji proposed to Miki this morning," Kaede began, but had to duck, as Naruto had spurted his mouthful of tea everywhere. He cursed under his breath as he took in the soiled papers, then shrugged as if he didn't really care at the moment. Kaede surfaced again. "And she said yes."

"Whoa, that's major," Naruto said in amazement. "But they are kind of suited to each other—one quiet and serious, the other one loud, obnoxious, and annoying."

Kaede kept her mouth shut as several snippy comments came to mind. Naruto had exactly described himself—loud, obnoxious, and annoying. But he wasn't so bad anymore, and had grown up a lot over the years in the war. Shoot, if Kaede wasn't already taken, and Sakura hadn't already had her claws on the Hokage, she would have probably asked him out for ramen sometime, as more than just friends.

But she loved Sasuke, loved him more than life itself. She didn't need anyone but him, and him alone.

"Yes," she finally said, brushing back her hair. "They're getting married, and Miki is really excited about it. I swear, she's never hummed so much in her life, much less danced."

Naruto chuckled. "That's Miki for you. Little miss exuberant."

"Always."

They sat in silence for a moment, Naruto surveying the tea-covered papers on his desk with a wary eye. Kaede fiddled her thumbs absently, her mind completely blank, oddly enough, except for the idea that her curse seal hadn't bothered her in a while. Hell, it hadn't hurt since the attack. She smiled, thinking of the Great Battle for Konoha.

With a heavy sigh, she looked up at Naruto to find him already observing her with those clear blue eyes. He looked a little worried, maybe apprehensive, and she wanted to know why.

"What's with the look, Naruto?" she queried after clearing her throat.

Naruto shrugged. "Nothing really. I'm just a little…concerned about you."

Kaede had a bad feeling where this was going, but she asked anyway, "Why would you be concerned about me? You know I can take care of myself."  
"Well, yeah," he said hesitantly, "but when it comes to certain things, you don't really have the best judgment. I mean, I trust you completely with your own life, but you can sometimes get a little…oblivious. Well, maybe that wasn't the right word…"

"Naruto, spill it!" she exclaimed, becoming apprehensive herself. "What's up?"  
"I'm worried about you and Sasuke," he finally blurted, and for a moment, he looked relieved that he'd finally said it. That is, until he caught sight of her murderous expression, and then he looked stricken. "No, no, don't get mad, Kaede. It's just that you guys broke up and now you're back together again and I don't want you to rush it." She relaxed a bit, but her gaze was still hard. Naruto fidgeted, and continued, "You were so close before, and you probably still are, but there are a lot of things you've still got to work out with him. Like, why he left without telling you, and the reasons behind you becoming Hokage, and why you broke up, among other things."

"But we've already discussed most of that!" Kaede said, her voice becoming a little hysteric. "There's nothing to talk about, Naruto. We've gotten through most of the bumps in the road."

"Bumps in the road aren't what I'm worried about," Naruto said sternly, suddenly becoming extremely Hokage-ish. "I'm worried about holes in the road, big, gaping holes that you're bound to fall into. I just don't want you to get hurt again. Last time, it was terrible. Just don't to it again."



That night, Kaede sat in the living room of her and Sasuke's house, her knees pulled up to her chest, thinking over what Naruto had said. He was right, in some ways. She and Sasuke still hadn't gotten over everything. She still wondered vaguely why he wouldn't give up on killing his brother, why he wouldn't admit he loved her, why it had been so hard to look each other in the eyes during the two and a half years they'd been apart. She couldn't get past other things, either, like his insistence on never holding her hand in public unless he had a good reason to, or why all those nice little things he did for her he denied. He should stand up and take credit for them, not claim he hadn't done them and shy away from any conversation involving them.

She heard the shower turn off down the hallway, and tried to relax her expression, not wanting him to see how upset she was by this. It would be a few minutes before he came out anyway, so she had a little while to prepare herself.

Forcing her eyes to be bright and satisfied, and her smile warm, Kaede waited for him to pad down the hallway in his bare feet and settle on the couch next to her. He came a few moments later, dressed loosely in a pair of old sweatpants and a white shirt, his black hair wet and plastered to his forehead and neck. She smiled her warm, fake smile at him as he sat down next to her; she leaned against his shoulder, enjoying the smell of his soap and shampoo.

She'd already taken her shower, leaving the rest of the night to her and Sasuke, just the two of them. He draped his arm over her shoulders, holding her against him, and sighed, content. She shifted until she was comfortable and closed her eyes for a moment, just counting her blessings again.

But despite all her best efforts, the terrible thoughts that Naruto's words had spurred crept back into her mind and her body tensed. Sasuke's arm flexed around her shoulders and he looked down at her. She forced herself to look up, and saw that his black eyes were hard, but lined with worry.

"What's the matter, Kaede?" he asked, his velvety voice cutting a gaping hole in her resisting thoughts. "Is something wrong?"  
Knowing that she couldn't put any this off any longer, she sighed and nodded. "Yes, Sasuke, something is wrong." She scooted over so they could look at each other easier, face to face. "There's a lot of 'something's' wrong."

"Tell me," he said gently, tugging lightly on a lock of her brown hair. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Alright." She looked up at him, her eyes pleading. "I want to know why you refuse to give up killing your brother, even for me." His eyes flashed dangerously for a moment, but Kaede stood strong, knowing she needed to address the hardest, yet most important, issue first. "If you can't answer that right now, or you don't want to, then here's another one: Why won't you admit you love me, or at least take credit for all those nice little things you do for me?"

Sasuke cleared his throat and let go of the lock of hair he'd still been holding. His breaths came in ragged blows, his eyes glaring at the wall over her head. She didn't try to meet his gaze, but instead watched his hands, which were wringing nervously in his lap.

He finally looked back at her, but his expression made her want to flinch. "You know why I can't say that to you, Kaede," he said darkly, looking almost venomous. "And why I don't take credit for all those things. I don't want to get too close to you."

"Then why are we even together?!" she said, not realizing she'd yelled until she noticed she was on her feet, her fists clenched at her sides. "You don't want to get close to me, but you obviously love me enough to stick around and play all these dumb little mind games that just drive me insane! You're going to make your decision, Sasuke, and you're going to make it _now_." The last bit she'd managed to say evenly, but it seemed to be worse in Sasuke's eyes. He looked absolutely horrified.

She cried out and turned away from him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I know how hard it is for you to get close to anyone. I just…didn't think straight. Sorry."

When she glanced back towards him, she saw he was shaking his head. "No, Kaede, I'm sorry." He stood up and took her hands in his. Still a little miffed, she left her hands limp in his, refusing to return to pressure. "I don't think about how you feel most of the time. It's always…I don't know, it's like…" He shook his head again, looking down at their hands. "Look, I'm just wary about your safety, because if you got hurt, I don't know what I'd do, okay? I'm sorry." He sighed. "I do…Kaede, I…er…Kaede, I really do…love you."

A sharp intake of breath was all he got from Kaede for a moment, and she stared at him blankly for a moment. Then, her senses came back to her, and she realized that he'd said he loved her. He'd said he _loved her. _"Sasuke!" she whispered, and flung herself at him. He pulled her into a tight hug, and she pressed her face against his chest, letting only a few tears leak out of the corners of her eyes. "I love you, too. I love you, too."

* * *

**Whoo. Thank goodness THAT'S over. I wrote ALL day long as soon as I got home--except for when I went to work my horse, he was SOOOO good today!!!--and now it's done. Yay! I had to have some angst and doubt in this chapter, it just makes the next one even better**

**OKay, here are the story names:**

**Unwritten Me**

**Because He Was Here**

**Listen to My Heart**

**Is Forever Enough**

**Have fun voting for it, and I can't wait to see what you say about this chapter! So...review, por favor!**

**Luv ya**

**Nicola**


	23. Chapter 22

**This will be the last chapter--there's still an epilouge, don't worry--to Konoha Hearts. I am sooooo happy with this story, and have had this ending written, and the epilouge, ever since my computer blew up on me. Enjoy!**

**Love ya**

**Nicola**

**

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**Chapter Twenty-Two: The Necklace**

It was several months later that Kaede was standing, dressed in a rather hideous green bridesmaids dress, holding both a small and large bouquets of flowers and watching her two friends get married.

Miki, in her long, slimming, strapless white wedding dress with the simple design around the edges and long white veil draped over her elegantly swept up hair, had only eyes for the man in front of her. Neji returned the gaze, his normally hard gaze replaced with one of love and caring. His dark suit brought out those white eyes of his, and the difference in his attitude was striking. The two held hands as Tsunade spoke of commitment and love and a lifetime of marriage.

The small clearing was beautiful and perfect for sealing the two lovers in holy matrimony. It was peaceful, speckled with tall wildflowers and outlined in high, swaying trees. Chairs were set out for the guests, and every single one was filled. The isle was sprinkled in red rose petals, lined with lengths of lacy cloth. A slight breeze lifted hats and bottoms of dresses all throughout the little clearing, and Kaede breathed the sweet air deeply.

Next to her stood Sakura, dressed in the same green dress but holding only one bouquet and next to Sakura was Hinata, then Shizune and finally Hanabi, Hinata's younger sister. On Neji's side of the archway, Naruto was first in line as the best man, followed by Shikamaru, Rock Lee, Sasuke, and Konohamaru. All five of the men were trying their best not too look affected by the sweet words being spoken, but Kaede caught the gushy eyes Sakura and Naruto kept shooting at each other, and vaguely wished Sasuke would look the same way at her. But his face was stone cold, as usual.

Snapping back to attention, Kaede heard Tsunade ask if Neji would please put the ring on Miki. She watched as Neji took the ring carefully from the pillow a small boy had carried up the isle and slipped it delicately over Miki's finger. The Hyuga girl sniffed and smiled at her almost-husband. She, too, picked the ring off of the pillow and lightly placed it onto Neji's finger. He smiled back at her, and Kaede could tell she was having a hard time not grabbing him and kissing him before Tsunade said he could.

The words that Miki had been waiting to hear came through Tsunade's lips and, almost as eagerly as his new wife, Neji pulled Miki to him and kissed her passionately.

Kaede felt tears spring to her eyes at the sight and clapped with the rest of them. Miki and Neji walked down the isle, her arm linked through his, and kissed at the end of it.

The crowd dispersed from their seats and crowded around them, shouting congratulations among other things at the newlyweds. Kaede was in the midst of it, pulling her friend into a tight hug, and crying out how proud she was of her. Miki hugged her back and the two began to cry happy tears, holding tight to each other. Kaede couldn't find the heart to let go, but she felt Neji lightly tugging on Miki's arm and reluctantly released her. Miki smiled warmly and winked at Kaede before kissing her husband again.

"Their's will be one hell of a honeymoon!' Naruto hooted, earning laughs from all sides. "She can't keep her hands off him!"

Miki flushed, but shouted right back, "You're damn right I can't! Look at him! You'd have a hard time resisting, too!"

Kaede chuckled along with everyone else, vaguely wondering where Sasuke could have gotten off to. She didn't have to wonder long, for his warm hand reached out and took hers, lifting it to his lips for a kiss. She relaxed immediately and leaned against his side, his arm wrapping around her shoulders.

"Did you like the ceremony?" she asked, truthfully curious to why he'd refused to show any sort of emotion during the sweet event.

"Of course I did," Sasuke replied, squeezing her shoulders.

"Then why didn't you act like it?" Kaede queried innocently, standing on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek. "You looked like you were bored."

"Well…sort of. It was kind of difficult to concentrate on anything while Naruto and Sakura were looking at each other like a couple of lovesick teenagers."

Pretending to seem indignant, Kaede gave him a look. "Really? Because I was flashing you the same looks and you weren't paying a bit of attention to me."

He just looked down at her with that blank expression with a little bit of exhaustion in it and shook his head. "Come on," he said, leading her through the diminishing crowd. "If we don't leave now, we won't make it to the reception, now will we?"

Kaede shrugged half-heartedly and let him pull her through the crowd to the waiting carriages. She and Sasuke loaded into one with Sakura and Naruto, who were huddled in their own little corner, speaking quietly to each other. Sitting down on the opposite bench, Kaede cleared her throat lightly, startling the two lovebirds. Sakura blushed and Naruto gave several "ahem's" before he settled for looking modestly flustered. Sasuke merely seemed indifferent.

As the carriage gave a jerk—the horses had begun pulling—Kaede stole a glance over to Sasuke. In the past few months, with all the wedding preparations, she hadn't had much of a chance to speak with him about all of the other issues they were having. She wanted to settle it all and be able to live in peace and harmony, like Miki and Neji seemed to be. It hurt their relationship to have all these problems and unanswered questions rampaging around both their minds. Although Kaede didn't have a clue what Sasuke would want to ask her.

The Uchiha man was looking rather solemn, as if he had something extremely important on his mind that he was just itching to speak about. Kaede wanted desperately to ask him what it was, but his furrowed brow, far-off eyes, and the little tilts to the corners of his mouth steered her from that direction. She would just settle for waiting him out. After all, she had spent their first few months as teammates ignoring him and trying to beat him at everything. It wasn't that big of a change.

Kaede stared out of the little window in the carriage, watching the scenery pass slowly by as they trotted towards the Hokage temple where the reception was going to be held. The trees slowly disappeared and the outer areas of Konoha came into view, little wooden houses and tiny shops and fields of corn. Kaede smiled as she saw the figures of workers out in the fields, harvesting what they had managed to plant and grow sine Konoha had been taken back.

She watched them look up and wave merrily at the passing carriages, and gladly waved back at them. They did not know who was in the horse-drawn taxi but were pleasant enough to greet them anyway. Kaede chuckled as a little boy out in the fields with his father or uncle or whoever pointed and started babbling loudly. She could make out the sound of his voice, but could not understand what he was saying. The man he was speaking to gestured towards the carriages and the little boy nodded, having been explained to what they were.

Another image flashed into Kaede's mind, and suddenly the little boy became a small child with black hair and black eyes, dressed in a dark-colored shirt and white shorts and tugging at his mother's shirttail, questioning what the big fountain in the middle of Konoha was for. And she told him that it was for wishing, and handed him a coin, instructing him to throw it in after making a wish just like the Hokage had taught her when they were younger. And a tall, stoic black-haired man who was the older version of the little boy came up and whispered sweet words into the woman's ear, and she leaned against him, his arm around her shoulders, as they watched their son throw his first coin into the fountain…

She viciously shook her head. There was no reason for her to think that way, as if she were older and married and had children. So what if her best friend had found a new beginning with her one true perfect love that she could spend the rest of her life with and live her dreams out with? That didn't mean she should take on the same thing, especially not so suddenly.

Kaede scooted a little bit away from Sasuke, feeling like she needed a bit of space at the moment. She could really see Miki and Neji five years from now, with little kids bouncing about their feet in the front yard of their spacious house. It seemed like the picture perfect life, and she felt a small tug in her stomach, almost like jealousy.

Again she shook her head. Her life was picture perfect, too. She lived in a wonderful house without nosy neighbors to bother her and her wonderful boyfriend, Uchiha Sasuke. She was a Sannin-level ninja. Her boyfriend was Jounin, a very successful one, one trained by Orochimaru, like herself. She was a previous Hokage of the Leaf village, and even though she hadn't done a very good job of it, she was still well-known and loved by the villagers. What did she have to complain about?

Nothing, she firmly told herself, and looked away from the window. She saw Sakura staring at her, hand still entwined with Naruto's, but her gaze completely different. There were no more gushy eyes, only bright green orbs staring blatantly in Kaede's direction. Kaede shifted nervously under the scrutiny, feeling as if Sakura could see exactly what she was feeling, and she probably could, knowing her.

Sakura didn't say a word, but her eyes told all, and the kunoichi knew exactly what was going through Kaede's head, as if she, too, had had those same thoughts.

Kaede swallowed and tried to tell Sakura that she knew she had no reason to be thinking that, and Sakura gave one stiff, quick nod. Kaede was able to relax a little bit, but she knew that her friend would want to have a conversation as soon as they could.

Kaede went back to looking out the window, and saw that they were getting closer to the temple. They were in the main streets of Konoha now, and she smiled, thinking how nice it would be to walk up these streets and shop, holding the hand of a small boy or girl, telling them that no, they couldn't go touch the pretty shiny trinket, or no, it was not nice to run off and not tell mommy where they were going. Her stomach gave another look as Miki took her place, and a little child with white eyes was now on the end of her hand.

She grimaced, wondering why she was all of a sudden having longings to be a mother. Really, it would be nice, but children had never been her thing. Sure, the occasional hug to the village child was nice and helping out every now and again in the daycare centers was a nice change, but to be a full-time mom was an entirely different story. She didn't think she fit the motherly profile; Sakura seemed like the type of person a child would run up to yelling, "Mommy!"

Taking a deep breath, Kaede stole a glance at the still-tense man next to her. Sasuke met her eyes with a stone-cold expression, as if he neither knew nor cared what she was thinking. She thought she saw a glimmer of something behind that mask, but it was probably nothing. This was Sasuke they were talking about—he wasn't the most social, conversational person in the world.

She looked away again and watched her hands, which her wringing in her lap. She hadn't known she was so nervous and worked up—she would have to stop this before they reached the temple. She did not want to mess up Miki's wedding day because she had the jitters about some crazy idea she'd gotten in her head.

Forcing her hands to sit still on her lap, on the surface of the ugly green dress, she licked her lips and looked out the window again. The Hokage temple was in sight now, and the horses sped up with a jolt. Apparently they were just as eager to get there as the bride and groom were.

Laughing at the idea of it, Kaede straightened her dress and smiled warmly at Naruto and Sakura, who were getting themselves situated as the carriage slowed and finally stopped. She stepped towards the door, and went to open it, but a hand beat her to it. She looked up, slightly startled, to see Sasuke's face close to hers. Smiling, she allowed him to open the door for her and lightly walked out, Sakura and Naruto close behind her. Sasuke was the last out, and he shut the door behind him, taking hold of Kaede's hand as they walked behind the bride and groom into the hall.

There was food set out, a dance floor, and a band to play music. Kaede took her place at the main table with the other bridesmaids and watched as all the other guests came in. There were so many of them—Hyuga family members, friends, fellow ninja, and a menagerie of other people walked through the double doors into the main hall. As soon as they were all seated—and that took a while—the singer of the band stepped forward, taking the microphone in his hand.

"It's time for the first dance for the newlyweds," he said, and the guests clapped.

As Neji took Miki's hand and led her to the dance floor, Kaede felt tears spring to the corner of her eyes and she wiped at them irritably, a smile still on her face. She shouldn't be crying. This was a happy occasion! But, alas, the flow of tears would not stop, so she had no choice but to let them go as the bride and groom swayed slowly to their soft song of preference.

Feeling a little sad, but still happy, Kaede saw Naruto move over to Sakura and bow down low, holding out his hand. She giggled, and took his outstretched fingers into her own; they walked onto the floor and began to dance together. Kaede sniffed, not even daring to look at Sasuke. He didn't dance, she knew that.

But she was surprised.

He tapped her on the shoulder lightly, and she looked up into his face with amazement. He held out his hand, she took it, and he pulled her from her chair. Fingers still entwined, they made their way to the dance floor. Kaede wrapped one arm over his shoulder, holding the other, and he placed his left hand on her waist. They swayed slowly to the music, heads close together, stomachs pressed against each other. She sighed, relaxing, against his chest, and she felt the low rumble of a silent laugh shake his torso. She, too, gave a small chuckle and laid her head under his chin.

Sasuke gently kissed her hair and breathed in the scent of her shampoo. She felt those familiar butterflies flutter in her stomach and she kissed his collar bone, enjoying the sweet moment when she knew that he loved her as much as she loved him.

The song was over way too soon, and as they parted, Kaede saw that there were several other couples on the dance floor, too, other than herself, Sakura and Naruto, and the newlyweds. Still holding Sasuke's hand, she led the way off of the dance floor and back to their seats. This time, though, she sat next to him as a fast song came on; he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. She smiled up at him and moved her gaze to watch the quickly dancing people.

It wasn't long before they began playing more slow songs, and Kaede found herself and Sasuke on the floor more frequently than she would ever have guessed. But she wasn't going to complain. It felt right to be there, with Sasuke, so close and so warm. When they were dancing, she matched her breathing with his, and felt that their heartbeats were almost in tune, too. She did not want the songs to end, the comfort of having her head on Sasuke's chest, his arms wrapped around her, making her feel closer to him than she had in months. Ever since their little conversation, it had been slightly tense, but today, they were back to what they were before he'd left, before the war. A happy, comfortable, loving couple.

As another fast-paced number came on, Kaede sat down with Sasuke on one of the benches outlining the dance floor. She leaned against his shoulder, basking in the warmth his presence was giving. It was nice, being here with him.

Suddenly, the music cut off in the middle of the song, gathering the attention of every single person there. The only one who didn't looked confused was Naruto, who had been dancing with Sakura, who was now looking around at the band as if they were insane. Kaede saw something glittering in his eyes that she'd never seen before, and gasped, grabbing onto Sasuke's arm as it hit her what he was going to do.

Naruto bent down on one knee, and, digging in his pocket, pulled out a deep purple velvet box. Sakura's hands flew to her mouth, and Naruto gently took one from her, holding it in his own hand as he popped the box open.

"Haruno Sakura," he began, holding the ring up so she could see it easier, "I have loved you for many, many years now. And I want to love you for many more. Will you be my wife? Will you marry me?"

Unable to speak, Sakura made a sort of a squeaking noise and threw herself down at Naruto. With her arms still wrapped around his neck, the Hokage stood up, holding her to him and grinning like he'd used to as a child after earning a free ramen ticket.

Kaede watched this with that jealous feeling still in her stomach, but her heart swelling with joy for her good friend.

"Yes," came Sakura's muffled sob into Naruto's shoulder. She pulled away from him and nodded. "Yes, I'll marry you!"

The cheers erupted all around them as Naruto slipped the gorgeous diamond ring over Sakura's third finger on her left hand, and she kissed him passionately before pulling back to stare in wonder at the ring. She looked up at Kaede, who smiled at her, and Sakura smiled back.

Sasuke had stiffened as soon as the ring had come out of Naruto's pocket, and Kaede was only just now noticing how rigged he'd become. She looked up at him, wondering what the hell his problem was, and studied his hardened dark eyes.

"Hey, Sasuke, what's the matter?" she whispered concernedly, but he just shook his head firmly and stood up, shoving his hand into the pocket of his jacket and fingering something there. Kaede watched his movements curiously and swallowed hard, forcing her face to look unconcerned about her long-time partner's abrupt departure. She turned back to the newly-engaged couple, who were surrounded by the bridesmaids and groomsmen. Standing up, she walked over to Sakura and Naruto and pulled Sakura into a hug.

"Congratulations honey!" she whispered to her, and Sakura hugged her tightly back.

"Thank you!" Sakura murmured, and pulled away. "Can you believe it? At Miki's wedding and he proposes." She looked a little bit scornful. "Couldn't he have waited until after the reception or something?" But Sakura was too happy to be upset, Kaede knew, and merely laughed.

"No, I couldn't have," Naruto answered, coming up behind his fiancée and wrapping his arms around her waist. He planted a soft kiss on her cheek. "I've waited too long already."



That night, Kaede sat in her living room, sipping on a cup of hot cocoa and reading one of her favorite novels. The wedding reception had gone on for a long time, and had been a blast. The food was amazing, the dancing highly entertaining—especially after a few of the guests had had a little too muck sake—and the events wonderful. Neji and Miki had had a literal smash shoving cake into each other's faces, and Sakura and Naruto were now engaged. What a reception.

She lazily turned the page of the book, not really into it but entertained nonetheless. Sasuke was in their bedroom, either brooding or asleep, and she was not in the mood to bother with him. After leaving the reception early—and leaving her without an escort home—she assumed he'd come straight home, taken a shower, gotten changed, and locked himself in the bedroom. She really didn't care at the moment, though, because he was not the nicest person when he had a hot head, and she'd be damned if she would let him tell her off just because he was in a nasty mood.

She took another sip of her cocoa, relishing the taste of the chocolate drink and marshmallows in her mouth. Her book was beginning to get to one of the boring parts, and she was starting to regret opening it. She didn't remember it being so…bland, so…stupid and hopelessly romantic. So what if the "perfect girl" met the "perfect guy" and had a happy ending? Those things didn't happen in real life. Life was a bitch, full of lies, war, and the smallest bit of love in the midst of it all. Yeah, Kaede knew just what saying she felt like living by: Life's a bitch and then you die.

Only minutely surprised at her negative attitude, Kaede tried to remember a time when she hadn't been overly positive. Probably underground, hiding from Orochimaru, trying to think up master plans to get the village back. After five years, it had all finally paid off, but at what cost?

She scoffed at the paragraph she was reading. Who honestly cared about the goo-goo eyes the boy and girl were shooting at each other, how they both secretly loved each other but were both too shy to say anything about it? No one, that's who. Maybe some lovesick teenager, but definitely not an esteemed, twenty-five year old ninja like Kaede. Definitely not.

Her head pounded unceremoniously, and she rubbed her temples, wondering what had spurred the unexpected headache. Perhaps the annoyance of reading such a daft book, or maybe thoughts of an irritated Sasuke waiting for her in the bedroom. Whatever the cause, she needed a pill.

Standing up and stretching, she carried her cocoa into the kitchen with her and opened up the cabinet where all the medicine was kept. She scanned the bottles and plucked a case of aspirin from the shelf. Opening the child-proof top—as if they had any children anyway—she dropped one pill into her palm and popped it into her mouth, taking a swig of cocoa to swallow it with. There, the headache would be gone in no time at all.

Feeling a bit braver now that she had a bit of pain medication in her system, Kaede, still carrying her cocoa, walked through the living room and into the hallway, heading for the bedroom. As expected, it was shut firmly, and she could hear someone pacing inside. She shook her head and pushed the door open.

Sasuke was halfway through his stride when she closed the door behind her and stood there, waiting patiently for him to make the first move. He pulled himself together, obviously having been giving himself a stern mental lecture, and lifted his chin in greeting. She returned the gesture, bored with his lack of speech.

"What were you doing in here?" she asked, licking her lips vaguely and sipping her cocoa again. His hands once again went to his pockets, and she saw him grab onto something in the fingers of his left hand. She lowered the mug from her mouth and stared hard into his face. She wanted to know what was going on, and she wanted to know now.

"Nothing," he answered calmly, but his hand was still messing around with something in his pocket. She glared at the offensive piece of material and tapped her mug impatiently.

"You weren't just doing _nothing_," she accused rightly. He tilted his head to one side as if he didn't understand, and she growled under her breath. She walked past him to sit on the bed and placed her mug on the bedside table. She tugged her long sweatpants off and replaced them with a pair of sleeping shorts draped over the footrest of the bed.

Sasuke sat down next to her, looking at his lap mindlessly. She sighed heavily and lay back on the bed, her legs bent at the knees and her feet resting on the edge of the mattress. She saw Sasuke shift to the side so that he could look at her better, and a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. Startled by this small show of emotion but knowing better than to let it be known, she focused her gaze on the ceiling, sighing heavily again.

With a grunt, Sasuke lay down on her right side, staring at the same spot she was. "Anything interesting up there?"  
"No," she mumbled, turning her head to look at him. He was watching her again, that same smile pulling on his mouth. She tried to hide her own smile and failed, and he chuckled lightly.

"Then what were you looking at it for?"

"Because I like the color of it," she said snidely, but he saw straight through her irritated tone and ran his hand down her arm until he reached hers. She kept it tightly against her side, and he settled for resting his hand on her wrist.

After a few moments, Kaede relented, and entwined her fingers in his. He squeezed her hand lightly and scooted until they were shoulder to shoulder. He moved their hands onto his stomach and held them there. She could feel his breathing, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. She placed her cheek against his upper arm; it was somehow soft, yet hard from the muscles he possessed. She sighed lightly this time, relaxing and settling into a comfortable silence with her Sasuke.

A slight movement broke that little spell, and she lifted her head to see him pulling something out of his pocket. Thinking that it was just some trinket or another that Naruto had probably given him for good luck, she lay back down until Sasuke sat up, pulling her with him. She grunted in protest but he kissed her, silencing her complaints.

It was then that she noticed the thing he'd pulled out of his pocket—a tiny, black, square box with the smallest Uchiha fan she'd ever seen outlined in gold on the top left corner. In the back of her mind she knew just what it was, but she could not bring herself to actually think it. She watched as he turned the box over and over in his hand, staring at it, as if he were wondering if its contents were right to reveal at this moment.

He half-turned until he was looking her straight in the eyes, those black orbs no longer cold and reserved, but hopeful and loving, like those of a small child. Kaede's heart tugged towards him and she tightened her grip on his hand.

"Kaede," he whispered with some difficulty, glancing down before looking back at her face. He took his hand from hers and placed it on her cheek, his thumb rubbing her cheekbone lovingly. She leaned into the caress, and was sadly disappointed when he went back to holding her hand.

It looked like he was really struggling to find what he wanted to say. Kaede could understand that—she, too, sometimes had trouble with words. And Uchiha Sasuke was not the kind of person who spoke very often. She watched him curiously, wondering what was really going through his mind.

Finally, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Kaede," he repeated, and she nodded her encouragement. "I know that we haven't had the best relationship, but when we were at our happiest, it was the most amazing thing I've ever felt. I've never felt like that around anyone in my entire life, not my mother or father, or my brother, or even Naruto and Sakura. Around you…I feel like I could fly if I wanted to, jump off the highest cliff and somehow sprout wings like some sort of bird.

"The biggest mistake I made in our relationship was leaving you to train with Orochimaru. That was stupid, and it nearly ruined everything. And when we broke up for real, I have never hurt so much. Every time I saw you I wanted to run up and pull you into my arms and tell you how sorry I was and how much I loved you.

"And now, with Konoha back, and our relationship back in its place, I've finally found the courage to ask you what I should have years ago." Kaede saw him slip one finger under the edge of the box and slowly open it. She caught her breath and started shaking her head in disbelief. No, this couldn't be happening…this was Sasuke…he wouldn't…would he?

"Kaede," Sasuke said, his voice so full of love it cracked, "will you please, please, please marry me?"

Having never heard him beg once in her life, nor heard such a long speech come from his mouth, Kaede was utterly shocked. She could not move, she could not breath, she could not think, much less answer his overwhelming question. He wanted her to marry him? To seriously marry him? Oh, Kami!

Her breath came out in gasps as she stared at the gorgeous ring in the small black box.

The silver band was tiny, delicate, and smooth as glass. The diamonds were encrusted into a miniscule replication of the Konoha symbol, each one carefully placed in the correct pattern. It shimmered in the light of the room, and Kaede could not take her eyes off of it. It was so…perfect.

She reached out and touched it, and Sasuke took her left hand, looking hopefully into her face for some sort of answer.

But suddenly, her stomach gave a lurch, and she couldn't seem to make the decision. Her senses wildly came back to her, slamming back into her body like a ten-ton truck, and she visibly jerked backwards at the mental impact of it. Sasuke looked at her in surprise, seeming slightly hurt at her reaction. She tore her hand away from his and shook her head rapidly, unsure.

"I-I-I…Sasuke," she whispered, focusing in on his black eyes. "I-I can't answer you right now. Can-Can I have a chance to think? Please?"

His face hardening into the solid rock Kaede painfully recognized, Sasuke nodded and looked down at the floor, snapping the little box sharply. "Sure."

Kaede didn't know what else to say, so she got to her feet, looking once more pleadingly at Sasuke, and walked out of the bedroom, her hands still shaking.



Kaede sat on the edge of the fountain in Konoha the next morning, tracing the surface of the water with the tips of her fingers. The streets were as busy as they ever got this early in the day, people bustling about, mothers with their children, trying to get done their shopping before the lunchtime rush came out. Laughter echoed off of every building, surrounding the throngs of people walking through. Voices merged into a low, dull rumble. Normally, Kaede would have joined in on the merriment of early morning goers—hadn't Konoha been back in their hands for months now?—but she had too much on her mind to focus on anything.

Last night, Sasuke had asked her the biggest question, the most difficult one to answer, of her life. It hadn't been the most traditional proposal, but it had been the best he could muster up, and she'd ruined it. Having dreamt of marriage and a family for the past several weeks, she couldn't understand why the thought of commitment suddenly frightened her beyond anything else, even Orochimaru. After he'd asked her, with much difficulty, if she would marry him, she had only stared at him. She'd yanked her hand away, shaking her head, and requested time to think about it, which he'd granted with a surly, monotonous "Sure." He was upset, she knew, but she didn't know what to do.

Visits to Miki, Sakura, and even her own mother—who had thankfully survived the war—had brought about the same answer: Do what your heart tells you to, what you felt was right. But how could she do that, when her heart was inevitably split in two ways? How could she choose between her village and Sasuke when she'd spent the last five years ricocheting between the two? There didn't seem to be an answer. If she married Sasuke, she would be more reluctant to go on missions, and he'd flat-out forbid it, knowing him. They'd probably want to have children, and leaving on dangerous, long missions would be that much harder. If she chose to serve her village, like she had always done in the past, she would live in a pit half-full of successes and half-full of regrets.

She smacked at the water, scattering droplets everywhere, and uttered a pathetic mew of indecision. Once again she found her heart tearing in two, and she couldn't take it anymore. She loved Sasuke with all of her being, but for the past seven or eight years she'd been completely dedicated to her village, giving her entire life, every waking hour, every bit of energy she had to it. She still felt she owed it to Konoha to serve, protect, and live for it. After pretty much handing it over to Orochimaru, she knew her debt was not yet paid.

Digging in her pocket, she pulled out a silver coin and clenched her fist around it. She closed her eyes as tightly as she could and wished with all her heart. _Please, please help me decide what to do. _

With a simple flick, she sent the coin flipping into the air, and it hit the water with a solid plop. As she watched it sink to the bottom, she felt like her chest was sinking with it. It was worth it, throwing the coin into the fountain. After all, it had never let her down before, right?

She noticed something glittering gold in the bright, early sunlight. It drew her attention like a magnet, and, curious as to what it was that could be sparkling so much—certainly not a coin—she reached into the water towards the glistening object. Her fingers touched and closed around a familiar gold chain. Excitement coursed through her veins as she pulled it out of the water.

Looking like it ha d the last time she'd seen it, after pressing it into Sasuke's palm during their hard goodbye's, the necklace, her necklace, seemed to scream the answer out at her. She ran her finger gently over the diamond-studded heart dangling off the end of the golden chain and turned it over, looking for the inscription._ The love of one cannot compare to the love of two. U.S. and K.S._

The inscription was still there, the necklace unharmed. U.S. and K.S. Her Sasuke….

* * *

**I can't help but be utterly upset that the ending is only one epilouge away. But, I'm excited for my new story. And I've decided that the title, according to popular vote, will be "Is Forever Enough". I hope you all enjoy it as much as you have Konoha Hearts. I can't wait to read your reviews for this one!**

**Oh, and yeah, she found the necklace. Yay!**

**Luv ya!**

**Nicola**


	24. epilogue

**Okay, this is the epilouge, and I think I'm going to cry Sniff it's so sad! Oh, and I posted my new story, Is Forever Enough, so...yeah go read it. :D**

**It was a great ride!**

**Luv ya!**

**Nicola**

* * *

****

****

With an inane shrug of her shoulder, Kaede turned back to the ramen bowl in front of her, completely ignoring Naruto's question. The blonde Hokage had invited her out for lunch with the rest of their friends in honor of the six-year anniversary of the Great Battle for Konoha, and of course, he'd chosen the ramen shop. So far, only she had arrived to join Naruto and his five-year-old son, Arashi, and the three were waiting for the others to get there.

At the moment, Naruto's son was trying in vain to get his father's Hokage hat—which was placed next to a growing stack of empty ramen bowls. Naruto was easily holding Arashi back with one hand, still able to concentrate on eating and talking to Kaede, who was avoiding his eyes. She focused instead on the determined gleam in Arashi's blue eyes, the way he was totally absorbed in snatching the red and white hat. She chuckled mildly at how much he resembled his father, blonde hair, blue eyes, and all.

Apparently, Naruto had also noticed how hard Arashi was trying to get a hold of the treasured hat, and acted as if he were beginning to tire. He began to use his other hand, too, and pretended like he was failing miserably. Noticing this, Arashi started to struggled harder, and Naruto feigned defeat, throwing his hands up into the air; a triumphant grin on his face, Arashi snatched the hat and plopped it on his own head. It fell far over his eyes, almost covering his nose, and the cloth sprawled over his shoulders.

"Look, Daddy, I'm Hokage too!"

Laughing, Naruto plucked the hat off his son's head and ruffled his spiky blonde hair. "It's a little bit big right now, but you'll grow into it." Arashi's eyes sparkled, and he turned back to his own smaller bowl of ramen, digging in with new gusto, as if the faster he ate, the faster he would grow into the coveted hat.

Kaede grinned wider; Arashi was just as ambitious as Naruto had been at his age, already dreaming of being the Hokage. She could just see an older version of him—basically Naruto at the current moment—standing in front of the entire village, dressed in the flowing Hokage robes. Her pleasant little image was shattered by Naruto's deeper, yet still slightly grating voice.

"About my question Kaede…"

She groaned. "Awww, Naruto, and here I was hoping that you'd have forgotten already! Dang it!"

It was Naruto's turn to groan and slap a hand to his forehead. "Kaede, you have got to be the most irritating person on the planet. I swear, the only time I've had to deal with such annoyance was when you were pregnant, and when Arashi was three. Ugh. Terrible Two's my foot. The three-year-olds are what you've gotta watch out for."

Kaede chuckled. "Sorry to disappoint."

Looking curious, Arashi peered over at the two adults as his father spoke again, "Yeah, but the two of you have been so quiet this past week, quiet even for Sasuke! Come on, what's going on?"

Kaede hesitated and played with her ramen. "I really don't want to say just now, Naruto. Can't it wait until everyone else gets here?"  
"No, it can't, Kaede," Naruto began, but he was interrupted by two small children, a boy and a girl, dashing up, both with pale eyes and dark brown hair. They were holding hands, and Arashi let out a little noise of excitement as his two friends stopped in front of him. They were momentarily followed by their bedraggled-looking mother, Miki, who threw herself down in the seat next to Kaede.

"Bad day?" Kaede asked, glad for the distraction from Naruto's question.

Miki moaned and put her head on the counter. "You have no idea. I was hoping they'd take after Neji, not me." She gave a dark laugh. "I guess I deserve it, really. I gave my mother hell when I was a kid."

"What'd they do this time?" Naruto queried, watching his son and the twins run around each other jubilantly. "Try to spray paint the face of the Fourth?"

"No," Miki mumbled, and looked up. "That was you, remember, when you were a kid?" She shook her head inanely. "Donovan knocked over an entire apple stand—how, I have no idea—and Arana squashed all the apples. Now I have to pay for the stupid fruit and for the stand!"

Fighting back the laugh in her throat, Kaede stuffed a bunch of ramen into her mouth and barely prevented herself from choking on it. Miki gave her a hard smack on the back and she coughed, able to breath.

"Go ahead, I don't care, laugh at me all you want," Miki muttered, watching her kids. "I swear, if those two weren't so damn cute, they'd be dead by now."

This time Kaede really had to work at the giggles threatening to burst from her mouth, and she looked at Naruto for some sort of help. Although she would've chosen different than he did.

"Again, Kaede, you're avoiding my question."

"What, about how weird they've been acting all week?" Miki added in, suddenly looking interested. "Yeah, Kaede, go on, tell us."

Hesitating again, licked her lips and looked helplessly towards her now-empty bowl of ramen. Great, she couldn't use that excuse. She sighed, beginning to feel the pressure, and opened her mouth to speak.

She was saved the trouble, though, by the loud voice of Arashi.

"Mommy!"

Kaede had never been so happy to see Sakura in her life. The pink haired medical ninja was carrying a small, wrapped up bundle—her second son, she knew—and bent down to pull her older child into a hug. Naruto kissed her on the cheek as she sat down next to him and handed him their second born.

Though Naruto's eyes were filled with love, he looked down at his son and said disdainfully, "Pink hair. The poor thing's got pink hair."

Miki spluttered and spat out her mouthful of noodles, coughing a bit before staring incredulously at Naruto. "Are you serious? You're kid's got pink hair?! Let me see!"

Naruto pulled the boy closer to his chest defensively. "No way! You're just going to make fun of poor little Soma."

"Hell yeah," Miki said, reaching out to pull the top of the blanket down. "You're son has a head full of pink hair. Why wouldn't I want to look?"

Sakura glared. "Leave my little boy alone. I could make fun of you because you're getting enough lines on your face to pass for forty-five but I don't."

Horrified, Miki reached up and touched her cheek, glanced at her children, and muttered, "I'm hiring a nanny. I don't care what Neji says, they're getting a nanny."

"Yeah, sure, Miki," Kaede laughed, scanning the crowd for her two loves. "You love your kids too much." The Hyuga scoffed, but Kaede knew it was true; Miki was crazy about her twins.

Kaede focused on trying to find the two most important people she was waiting for, but she still didn't see them. Crap. The only ones left to get here were Neji and Kakashi, who would probably arrive in six minutes. She couldn't hold them off all by herself, and she certainly wasn't going to tell them without the two she was looking for. They'd better get here soon, or else she was going to get horded.

"Where's Neji?" Kaede asked absently, turning back to look at Miki.

"Hiding," she grumbled, and Sakura gave her a look. "I'm serious! Arana wanted to go look at dollies, and I swear, one second he was there, the next he was gone." She smirked as she spotted someone in the crowd. "Here he is now, the chicken."

Neji strode up, looking slightly sheepish, in his own Neji-ish way, that is. He gave Miki a chaste kiss on the cheek before rubbing her shoulders soothingly. Kaede chuckled as Miki's face became a mixture of annoyance and relaxation.

"You suck up," she muttered, but didn't reprimand her husband any more after that.

Kaede went back to looking at the crowds outside the ramen shop, waiting impatiently for them to get here. She was not one for much patience today, and everyone else was here—save for Kakashi, three more minutes to go—so why weren't they? She sighed heavily and swiveled her chair back around, deciding to wait for Kakashi's arrival before getting herself all worked up.

And, exactly three minutes later, Hatake Kakashi strode into the tightly packed ramen shop, his orange book shoved in front of his face, as always. Kaede shook her head and pushed the book down slightly, so that she could see his gray eye. Ever since they'd gained Konoha back, he'd reverted to his old habit of keeping his mask up and his headband bowed to the left. And, of course, he'd continued the pattern of being late and having a complete disregard for everyone else around him. Except for those who knew him too well, that is, and who could see through his demeanor.

"Hello, Kakashi, how're you today?" Kaede asked sweetly, and Kakashi looked around in confusion.

"Now…why is someone missing? Is someone later than me?" He almost sounded alarmed, and Kaede smirked.

"No, you aren't late, Kakashi-sensei. I just told you that we were getting together three hours earlier than we really were so that you wouldn't be late," she explained easily, glowing in the shock that flashed over Kakashi's face. It was soon replaced by sheepishness, though, and he rubbed the back of his head.

"Guess you got me this time," he chuckled, and moved to lean against the wall. Kaede, satisfied now that everyone was there, looked back out into the busy street, hoping to catch a glimpse of them. She could just make out a small figure towering over the crowds, sitting atop a man's shoulders. The figure was pointing and holding onto fistfuls of black hair. His attention turned to the ramen shop, and he pointed urgently, babbling loudly and rapidly to the man holding him. He lifted his tiny hand in an eager wave. Kaede waved back to her son, a smile spreading over her face as they approached.

She stood up, momentarily dizzy, and strode over to them, grinning from ear to ear. Her son, Itake, continued to wave and called out, "Mommy!" She smiled even wider, if that was possible, and stopped in front of her husband and child. Holding his son's leg with one hand, Sasuke pulled Kaede into an embrace with his free arm. He didn't let go of her, either, until they reached the ramen stand, where he set Itake down on his own two feet to go play with the other children. Sasuke then turned to Kaede and, holding her face between his hands, kissed her passionately.

She kissed him back, her arms wrapped around his neck, and relished the fact that he gave her this same kiss every time he saw her, no matter how short of a time they'd been apart, whether five days or five minutes. He kissed her the same way he had when they'd finally kissed—really kissed—for the first time in nearly three years. She remembered the day clearly, and could not imagine a better ending to the first week of being in Konoha again.

She recalled how he'd reacted after she'd accepted his proposal, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into the bedroom for the night. Sometimes she would still blush at the thought of it. They'd married in the Hokage temple, and the reception had been held in the same place. After that, two years of being together and then deciding to have children. Itake was their first, and so far, only child.

"Eeewww!"

Kaede and Sasuke parted, slightly embarrassed, and looked down at their son. It wasn't only him, though. All of the children—minus one baby—had gathered in front of the kissing couple, all gagging and making disgusted noises. Kaede took Sasuke's hand and held out her other one for Itake to take. The little boy did, and she picked him up easily.

He looked so much like his father. He had the black hair that sometimes looked blue, like ink, and the black eyes that widened when excited. He had the cutest dimples, and his whole face lit up when he smiled. Kaede loved it when he smiled. Itake also had the makings of a great ninja. She knew he was skilled and would excel in his classes.

"So, how was your first day?" she asked. Today had been the first day Itake had gone to the academy.

"It was okay," Itake replied, looking thoughtful. "Shikamaru-sensei seems nice enough, but Rock Lee-sensei is just plain weird."

Kaede and Sasuke chuckled. "Anything else?"

"No, not really."

Smiling, Kaede stood on tiptoe to kiss Sasuke again. He held her cheek lightly in the palm of his hand, and they stayed lip-locked until Itake muttered his protest.

"My parents are never that nice to each other," Donovan grumbled, and his sister nodded her agreement.

"Mine are," Arashi said, shooting an irritated glance at Sakura and Naruto. "They have even more fun at night, but it always seems like its when I have a night-scare." Sakura and Naruto flushed ten shades of red as their friends chuckled, including the old man running the ramen shop and Kakashi.

Kakashi stepped forward and held out his hand to Itake. "I don't believe we've met before, little one. My name's Hatake Kakashi. I trained your parents when they were younger."

Eyes wide, Itake nodded. "I know! I read 'bout you in one of my books! You're the son of the…the um…the White Fang! And you like those dirty books Mommy and Daddy won't let me look at."

Kakashi chuckled lightly as Itake shook his hand eagerly, his tiny fingers barely able to wrap around Kakashi's thumb. "Well, it looks like they're raising you right, then." He seemed to wink. "I hope I get to have you on one of my squad's when you get old enough. Who knows, with your parentage, you could be the greatest ninja yet."

Itake's eyes got even bigger, and he opened his mouth to say something when a high-pitched, grating voice cut it. "Hey! I'm supposed to be the greatest ninja ever! Not him!"

Naruto looked in shock at his son, and Sakura tried to motion for him to be quiet, but Arashi stood firm with his hands fisted at his sides. Kakashi stared down at the small blonde boy who was a miniature of the Hokage and shook his head.

"Just like your father, aren't you?"

"Yup!" Arashi claimed proudly. "And just look where it got him!"

Rubbing his temple, Kakashi glanced over at Itake and rolled his one gray eye. "I bet they'll give me him, just to spite me."

Once everyone was settled down with their own preferred ramen and beverage, Kaede and Sasuke stood up. Kaede picked Itake up again and held him on her hip. "Guys," she said, and looked up at Sasuke lovingly. He lightly touched her stomach and returned the look. "I think it's time for me to tell you what I know you've all been wondering." Naruto looked eager, and Miki looked ready to burst. Kaede leaned against Sasuke's side and said, "Sasuke and I are going to have another baby."

Squeals and gasps rippled through the group of friends, and suddenly, Kaede was getting bombarded with hugs from Miki and Sakura. Naruto, Neji, and Kakashi stepped forward to wring Sasuke's hand and congratulate him, and to give Kaede a hug and a good wish, too.

"You hear that, little guy?" Kaede said, kissing Itake on the cheek. "You're going to be a big brother, and have a little brother or sister."

The small child looked positively illuminated. "I'm gonna be the bestest big brother ever!"

Kaede laughed, and wondered, amidst the congratulatory words and hugs from her friends, if her son would live up to his own standards.

vvv

Eight months later, Kaede and Sasuke had a baby daughter, and Itake had a new baby sister. She had big black eyes, black hair, and Kaede's nose.

They named her Mikoto, after Sasuke's mother.

* * *

**Well, there it is. I had a request for a sequel, which I'm contemplating at the moment, but for now, until I can think up a possible plot for a sequel, I'm gonna concentrate on Is Forever Enough and studying for the SAT's, which sucks, let me tell you! Thanks for all your wonderful reviews, my story is finally finished! I love you all! **

**Oh, and dont' forget to review again, hehe!**


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